


One Choice Makes All The Difference

by Alys_Holmes



Series: Am I Rewriting Star Trek? Bitch I Might Be [1]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Slow Burn, This is going to be so long, im so sorry, no idea how long it will be, ratings will absolutely change as this thing grows
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-04-07 19:12:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 26,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14087748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alys_Holmes/pseuds/Alys_Holmes
Summary: It's amazing the things you learn about yourself in the emptiness of a sky that stretches around you without end. Leonard would just as soon have a horizon and solid ground beneath his feet, but one petty decision in a shipyard and suddenly his entire life is upside down and he's got to figure out how to cheat death.Again, and again, and again.For a man sworn to healing, he seems to be surrounded by an awful lot of death and suffering. And he never could turn a blind eye to someone's suffering. It was what had made him become a doctor, it might even be what got him into space in the first place, and now, it's got him embroiled in the middle of a centuries long battle in space. Leonard McCoy could never stand by and let someone die, human or otherwise, and dammit, he had to dosomething.This isn't just the story of a doctor, but of how he became who he was meant to be, and how the men alongside him found their ways there as well. It's a story of fear, of joy and doubt, of pain and pride. But more than that it is a story of hope, and how it can be found when we least expect it. It is a story of the most human element of all, exploration. And what we do with what we find.





	1. Just What Is A Georgia Man Doing In Iowa Anyway?

**Author's Note:**

> Whaaaaaaaat, I write something besides Les Mis? Apparently.
> 
> I take my cues from 19th century literature so I apologize if this gets long-winded and complicated. But this is planned to be a story that spans all three movies to date, and addresses some familiar space struggles from The Original Series (possibly all of them???), so it's already going to be lengthy, let's just hope it doesn't get overwhelmingly out of control. Fingers crossed, its time to boldly go...

Leonard McCoy was not the type of man that you would have expected to see on the underside of a bar table at two in the morning. If you looked his name up you would see an excited young man holding a beautiful grinning baby girl standing next to a tired but glowing mother. You would see a glowing review of his medical career, advancements in his field, and the insistence that he would further the reaches of medicine before he was thirty.

If you looked closer you would see that he lived up to this potential, Dr. Leonard Horatio McCoy was a respected name not long after he had graduated from medical school. A prodigy they called him. You wouldn’t have expected a man so determined and brilliant to lose his career and everything he had worked for so quickly, but if you had dug just a little bit deeper, you would find that the year 2255 was the year that McCoy’s life was turned upside down. It started with an offer for a prestigious position.

Leonard had driven himself into his work as hard as he had at university, a trait his wife had laughed at and called charming as she dragged him away from his studies for drinks and the allure of their bed. Apparently however, the charm had worn off by the time their daughter was born, as the fights began in earnest.

When Leonard went home to tell his wife of his fortunes, he was greeted by official looking court papers and a hard look in Jocelyn’s eyes that had grown over the years without him noticing. She told him coldly that if he had ever bothered to be around, they might have avoided all this, but she had to look out for little Joanna. His baby girl that he would never celebrate another birthday for.

Divorce. No chance for custody. When he cursed and screamed, Jocelyn told him she would file a restraining order if she had to.

A baseball bat to his abdomen wouldn’t have cleared the air from his lungs so quickly. Everything he had done, he told himself had been for her, for them. To give his baby girl a comfortable future, his wife a home. But what home could he give if it meant he was always at work, always on call?

He signed the papers with hands that never shook, even when his vision spun and swam and he wanted to scream and cry; anything to break that damned silence that was creeping around him like ice, holding fast to his heart and settling in.

He walked away from the house he had bought when he was young and fresh out of medical school, a young bride to carry over the threshold like the southern gentleman his mother had raised him to be. He left a jaded ex-wife and a little girl with chubby cheeks and a penchant for destruction, just learning how to wrap her daddy around her finger.

He should have gone and accepted that offer, built himself a new life working towards being a part of Joanna’s. Instead his fever-hot mind had gotten him on a bus and never looked back. He ripped through the credits from his last paycheck and drank his way up the country, losing track of what state he was in and who he was willing to sleep with for a warm bed.

When the credits began to run out, he had found himself in that flattest part of the country he had ever seen. There was booze, industry, and farmland as far as the eye could see but not much else. Which suited him just fine, drinking was something he was becoming good at.

It was waking up in a bar he had forgotten the name of as the bartender kicked his foot, resignedly trying to see if he was alive, that forced his hand. His money had run out and he could either beg, or find a job. Luckily it was Iowa, and most of the industrial sections he saw were willing to hire by the day if you proved competent enough not to burn yourself.

He never made it very far into the shipyard that he stumbled into, his head pounding and his stomach churning. There was very little left in his flask and he could already feel his body cursing him for how much he had had recently.

Leaving his stomach at the edge of the yard, McCoy wandered in the weak morning light towards a group of people in smart red uniforms, maybe they would know where he could go.

He did his best to assume a more vertical stance, something less “what the cat dragged in” but still a far cry from his respectable days in medicine. The sun beat down on him as he walked over, warming his body in a way he hadn’t felt in weeks from holing up in shitty motels and traveling on the latest buses that ran. It’s harder to own up to yourself underneath an unforgiving sun but it’s easy to forget yourself under the glowing moon.

With his slow approach however, he had plenty of time to realize that those red uniforms belonged to Starfleet cadets, probably on a tour of the shipyard or some other noble and naive activity. His feet began to drag, giving him enough time to rethink his approach, take a swig of the bourbon in his pocket, and overhear a conversation between two cadets young enough to make him feel ancient.

“So did I hear right? This is the new flagship for the Federation?”

“Yeah! So like, it’s supposed to be done in like what, three years or something?”

“That’s so cool. I wonder where it’s gonna go?”

“I wonder if we’ll be on it!”

“Not with _your_ navigation grades we won’t be!”

The laughter of the two young cadets rippled across their group and a new authoritative voice cut in, “alright cadets! Enough chatter! This shuttle is leaving at 0800 and if you don’t want to be finding your way back to San Francisco on your own you had best be on it!”

Leonard raised a hand and squinted against the bright gleam reflecting off the hull of the shuttle in question to see a man in black and white standing ramrod straight by an opening door.

As the cadets shuffled towards him and the opening shuttle to find their seats, Leonard watched them with a heaviness in his heart. He wasn’t even thirty and those red uniforms had made him feel more than twice his age. The weight of everything that had happened bearing down on him and making it impossible to breathe.

He blamed the sun baking his bare head for his not realizing the man was walking towards him until he had a hand on his shoulder, “you doing alright?” He blamed his lack of quality human contact for the way he jumped in surprise.

Looking over at the man who had a concerned look on his face, Leonard ran a steady hand through his--in need of a goddamn shower--hair before thrusting his other hand out, recalling manners and basic human interaction only a few seconds too late. “Dr. Leonard McCoy” _should probably stop introducing myself as a doctor, lest people get the wrong idea about me. Not like I have a medical practice or anything._

The man took his hand and with an assessing gaze said, “Captain Christopher Pike. A pleasure to meet you. A doctor you say?”

Suppressing a scowl Leonard nodded. It would be just his luck to attract the attention of a god damn captain of all things. “Yes sir, born and raised in Georgia.”

With his hands behind his back, Pike nodded, just once. “You’re a... long way from your practice, Doctor.”

A long way, if you call a long shower and some BAC reducing hypos a long way then yeah, you could call it that. Leonard merely stared Pike back saying, “seeing how far I can get really. Not much left to keep me around there.”

“And is there something in Iowa that drew you?”

Leonard looked up at the partially assembled hull of the massive starship far above his head, if for no other reason than to try and think of an answer beyond the bitter truth. That nothing drew him anymore, nothing except his family, his home, his baby girl. And he wasn’t allowed to have those anymore.

“You know, there’s no place farther than space.”

“What?” Leonard looked back at Pike, there was a small smile on the man’s face he didn’t quite trust.

“You said you were seeing how far you could get. Well, you can’t get much farther from Georgia than space. And Starfleet could always use well trained doctors.” He gestured behind him with the smallest tilt of his head back to the shuttle that the cadets had filed into,readying themselves for their bright futures.

A thousand thoughts flew through Leonard’s mind, the impossibility of this moment, him? In space? He thought desperately of his home, he had never left the planet before, who was he to join _Starfleet_? He thought of Jocelyn and her clever smile, his daughter’s bright eyes and grasping fingers. And he thought of the hollow in his heart that had started to form when he first read through those divorce papers.

Jocelyn had taken their home, their daughter, and for all he very well cared, she could have the damn planet too.

Leonard held his hand out once more and said with a spine that felt straighter than it had in months, “why, I think you’ve just found yourself a doctor Captain Pike, Sir.”

Pike smiled and shook his hand. “Shuttle leaves at 0800 Doctor, best find yourself a seat.”

And with that Leonard made his way across the shipyard, maybe it was a little petty, okay it was a _lot_ petty, but he felt like he could breathe for the first time since... Hell it was the first time his head hadn’t felt cramped since he had first started trying to juggle his studies and a wife and a daughter and then residential hours and- It had been a while. He climbed into the shuttle feeling like a brand new man.

A brand new man who was realizing that there was a dozen young faces staring right at him, all in a casual state of strapping into their seats for takeoff. Where they would be flying, to go to Starfleet, so that they could go into _space_ and oh _God_ he was a goddamn _idiot_ is what he was! What the hell was he thinking, agreeing to join Starfleet? He knew very well that he had a pretty substantial case of aviophobia.

Smiling uncomfortably at the curious faces and raising a hand in a tiny wave, Leonard ducked the beam marked low clearance and started looking for a seat. Maybe it wouldn’t be all bad, just because he was a part of Starfleet didn’t mean he had to go around flying through all that uncharted black, he could get an assignment to a colony, or maybe even a teaching position on Earth. That would be fine with him he thought.

Finding a seat, Leonard sighed and fell into it. This would be fine. He took another swig of bourbon and spied an open door just a few seats past him. This _would_ be fine. Especially if he managed to find a seat that had no windows and he could cram himself into for the duration of this hellish flight.


	2. Just A Kid From Iowa, Fighting Against The Inevitable

Cutting an entire year out of a program was nothing to laugh at. Jim had tested out of as many classes as he could get away with and what classes were left, well, he didn’t exactly have room for repeat courses. He had to take as many classes as he could each semester without any room for mistakes. He only had one shot with each class to prove that he was everything his bluster said he was.

But if you looked at him, seen the apparent ease with which he assumed the crazy schedule and pressures, the expectations and responsibilities, you would have thought he was born to be a captain. Which was exactly what he wanted everyone to see.

Just a few weeks into actual classes and Jim had befriended half his class and nearly all the professors on campus, regardless of whether he was actually one of their students. He batted his baby blues at men and women alike, charming his way into conversations until it felt like he had been their friend for months. He beat everyone’s assumptions by turning in assignments on time and even participating in class. He was a model student, even Captain Pike had nothing to complain about.

He was proving every assumption wrong. And it was driving him mad. 

Jim shoved his way past the sliding of his door, pressing his hand against the sensor to get it to shut faster behind him. He threw his books onto his desk where momentum took them sliding onto the floor, knocking into his trashcan and upending the contents.

He had come to the academy driven to prove himself. Pike’s words in that bar had been a punch to the gut and a breath of fresh air all in one movement. If you asked him, Jim would breeze past the question, tell you he had accepted Pike’s challenge for the fun of it. To get the last word in, making it in three years instead of four.

Jim wasn’t stupid. Well, okay sure, there were a lot of decisions in his past that weren’t the brightest he’d ever made  but he wasn’t  _ stupid _ . He knew he had been waiting for something to break and Pike walking into that bar was the break he needed.

He wasn’t stupid. He took the chance when it came calling. Or whistling. Or whatever.

He only had one shot to prove himself, and he couldn’t fail. 

It wasn’t even that he really thought he was  _ going _ to fail per se, but it still loomed over his shoulder in every class and every conversation he had. It felt like a mask he was trapped behind, this good student and model classmate. 

With a deep sigh Jim picked up his books from the floor, turned his computer on and pulled up his schedule to glare at while he fought the constraining uniform boots from his feet. When was the last time he’d had a schedule like this?

Three classes a day spanning everything from interplanetary law to engineering to xenolinguistics--because fuck you Uhura. Rachel? Madison? Whatever, he’d figure her first name out eventually. 

When he wasn’t in class he was studying-- _ studying _ ! For the first time in his life he was studying. And if he wasn’t buried in his books, he was out making connections with everyone he could find.

He didn’t even sleep with anyone, and  _ that _ had been the hardest thing of all. Not because he was so obsessed with sex that he couldn’t go a few days without it, but because of what was stopping him. .

Everytime he sent an appreciative glance at someone, all he could hear was a voice in the back of his mind whispering  _ it’s George Kirk’s son. The captain who saved hundreds of lives with just a few minutes in the seat. It would be such a shame if his son was a disappointment to his memory. _

Talk about a mood killer. 

It was hard to have a good time when you felt like your father’s ghost was watching you. Hamlet would have had a field day with his issues.

Jim finally slid into the seat at his desk--sans boots--and brushed the packed schedule away from the screen. He had a preliminary report due in a few days and he hadn’t even started the readings it was supposed to be based on. 

As much as he shook that voice away, he knew it was right. The reason he hadn’t done anything with his life until Pike had come and bullied him into Starfleet was because he could never just be  _ Jim _ . He would always be compared to his father’s ghost, and as everyone back in Iowa could tell you, he’d never bothered to try and measure up. 

Except now Jim was here at Starfleet, decked out in cadet red and a part of something greater than himself. His actions had  _ consequences _ greater than himself, which was new. Pike hadn’t exactly been joking when he called him a repeat offender. 

After his mother had started leaving the planet and he and his brother were left with their uncle, he had done everything possible to get away from that farmhouse. He started with stealing a Corvette he couldn’t see over the dash of and had never learned to slow down.

Eventually people had stopped looking for him to fulfill a dead man’s legacy and just started waiting to see what shit he would get into next and how he was going to get out of it. He got comfortable there, complacent in his mediocrity. But he wasn’t in Iowa anymore, now all eyes were on him and waiting once again to see him be something amazing.

Their stares weighed a thousand pounds; they were hooked into the marrow in his bones trying to chain him to his past. It felt like there was pressure building up under his skin, a storm that grew stronger every day, waiting for him to make a mistake so it could break out and ruin him. His palms itched when he thought about it, and his feet tapped relentlessly whenever he sat in one place for more than a few moments.

His socked foot started tapping out a mindless rhythm against the side of his desk as soon as he hooked his leg over his knee. His mind raced in the small room, readings ignored in favor of trying to focus long enough to sit still.

Jim Kirk had never really had to try too hard at anything in his life. He had never met a class he had to study for and his teachers were more than happy to pass him up through the grades rather than try and figure out out how to “fix” his bad attitude. He had worked in a garage, working with bikes and cars and silent coworkers who were better with a wrench than conversation. Jim had gotten into fights, drank his way around Riverside, and told himself he was content.

Jim glared at the lights over his head.  _ Twenty third century and they still haven’t been able to make the damn things any more natural _ he thought to himself. He had data files stacked in large towers around his computer, boxing him in and driving his fingers into his hair, gripping and pulling to bring his racing mind back to earth.

He didn’t have his bike--left that at the shipyard weeks ago; he couldn’t go find someone to sleep with, they all thought they knew the name  _ Kirk _ ; he couldn’t even go drink because that’s not was a starship captain would do, it’s not what _ George Kirk _ would do.

Shoving his hands down out of his hair Jim pushed himself away from the desk. Even with the window open it was stifling in this room. Pulling his boots roughly back onto his feet he slapped his hand against the door panel, sliding the door open and practically throwing himself back out into the world.

He would go for a walk. That was something that great leaders and captains did. They walked when they were troubled, looking contemplative and pensive, as if they were thinking great and magnanimous thoughts. They definitely didn’t punch the wall while waiting for the lift.

His feet felt like lead as he walked out into the sunshine. Something about San Francisco made him feel trapped; it felt as though if he tried to run it would be like a dreamscape where no matter how hard he pumped his legs he would never move any faster through the molasses thick air. 

Maybe that was the problem, the air. Here in San Francisco the weather didn’t change much throughout the year beyond rain and sun and wind. No snow or sleet or blistering hot summer days. Iowa’s weather had always acted like each day was a personal challenge to Jim’s existence.

San Francisco was tall buildings gleaming in the sun, constantly updating and improving and marching into the future without catching its breath; he missed the wide open skies of Iowa where people held onto anything that could be scrapped for parts down the road. Nothing was useless out in the rural fields of Riverside, not even a punk ass kid with a chip on his shoulder. San Francisco didn’t have the time to cater to a kid who couldn’t keep up.

But Kirk could and he would keep up. He wasn’t used to this pace, but it was exhilarating all the same. The lead in his feet kept him grounded for what felt like the first time in his life. His classes were an actual challenge that required him to think and form his own opinions; he had to use his intellect for more than just charming his way into and out of trouble.

As Jim took deep breaths of clean air, his mind began to clear slightly. San Francisco wasn’t all bad. He had a purpose for once.

His restless feet carried him  far past his dorms, past the edges of campus that he had mapped in his head between classes like a rat in a cage. The sky darkened and the lights that scattered the city began to illuminate his paths. It was quite possibly the first time since he had boarded that shuttle in Iowa that he had been alone in his own thoughts.

He was used to having to actually seek company out in the vast stretches of Iowa, but here he had to find ways to quiet the constant chatter and noise that permeated the city’s air.  Walking along the relatively empty city streets was helping to bring back a semblance of his old stability, especially now that he was away from anything Starfleet issued.

The stifling constriction of his skin had dimmed to a hum in the back of his mind. He contemplated going to a gym on campus. It might not be the same rush of adrenaline a no-holds-barred sort of brawl in a bar could give him but maybe the exercise could at least calm his restless body some. Maybe even just a small, controlled fight could scratch that dangerous itch under his skin.

With a gentle laugh Jim lifted his head and looked around him, he was in an unfamiliar part of the city and it was getting darker than he was used to being out. Rather than taking this as a signal to get his feet headed back towards campus, Jim headed deeper into the city, in search of life and humanity. Or at least people, humanity was optional.

It didn’t take Jim long to find the neon glow of a bar with music blasting from within and he barely spared a moment for hesitation before shrugging his shoulders and pulling open the old door. He figured the likelihood of meeting anyone from campus was minimal, especially given the fact that it was the middle of the week.

Good little students would all be in the library studying.

As Jim stepped through the door he took a quick look around and headed to the bar, flagging down the bartender for a glass of whiskey. He toasted it to the heavens before drinking it down quicky, taking only a moment to chase the flavors across his tongue before ordering another. 

With his second glass in hand Jim turned his attention to the crowd. Worn booths lined the back walls, the faces and bodies seated there hidden in shadows created by the dim overhead lights and the flashing of colors on the dancefloor. On the other side of the room was the dancefloor itself, full of gyrating bodies and thumping music that could drown out any thought.

Sipping from the glass in his hand Jim surveyed the dancefloor with interest and saw a set of eyes glance his way and linger. The whiskey coated his tongue and he couldn’t help but smile. Perhaps it was time to put his charms to work. He had his work done for tomorrow. Mostly. His morning work was done at least.

He set the empty glass back on the bar and made his way onto the floor where the music did its part to help him get lost in the movement of the bodies around him. As he moved he felt his body loosen up, lose some of the stiffness that had shoved him out onto his walk to begin with.

Eventually that pair of eyes that had followed his movements were back. It was a beautiful woman who turned her body towards him, lining up with him as she danced, dragging a hand down his arm and gently moving to the edge of the floor to introduce herself with a voice that promised him a night of delight.

“My name is Illya, what are you called?”

“James T. Kirk, at your service” he took her hand kissed the knuckles, noting that her lavender skin was slightly chilled to his touch, even though she had just been dancing. The pale blue-green hair that cascaded from her forehead and down her spine was braided with small beads that reflected the flashing lights like diamonds.

Illya laughed and removed her hand from his, heading to the bar and ordering herself a drink before giving him a considering look and ordering one for him as well. 

When he received the drink he looked at the frothy blue concoction and shrugged, taking a sip to find a fruity but minty flavor wash over his tongue. It was a change after his previous drinks but not one that he minded much. He winked at Illya and continued drinking , letting her know that he approved of her choice.

They chatted, leaning against the bar; he found out that she was a florist, her species had a particular talent with flowers and she loved seeing people’s faces light up when they received a gift or found that perfect bloom.

Illya  made him laugh and was making her interest loud and clear and to his delight he found that his earlier antsiness seemed to have faded completely. Jim  felt like he fit in his own skin again, like he was back in Riverside without a care in the world. And afterall, to Illya that’s all he needed to be, she didn’t know who his father was, or what he had told Pike. He was just Jimmy- some kid from Iowa.

She asked him about the uniform he forgot he wore, and Jim told her about being in the academy, about how he was going to be a captain. Her eyes lit up, perhaps a little doubtful of his boasting but he grinned, “what, you don’t believe me? You wound me!” His dramatics made her laugh and she leaned just a little bit closer to him.

This time he ordered the drinks, he figured she might appreciate something with a bit of a floral taste. Or he was about to insult her, either way.

“So tell me something Jimmy-” he had insisted on her calling him Jim, she had taken it one step further, “what made you want so badly to be a captain of all things?” She sipped her drink and made a small pleased noise, apparently he had chosen well.

“Well you see...” His head swam a little so he took a sip from his glass. That  _ was _ the question wasn’t it. Why was he going to be a captain and how did he find a version to tell a pretty stranger that wouldn’t scare them off or worse garner pity. “My dad he uh... He was a captain once upon a time. You could say... I was born among the stars.” He gulped the rest of his drink and raised a hand at the bartender, there was still a bitter taste in his mouth.

Illya didn’t seem to notice as she looked up at him, “that is so very romantic Jimmy...” where had she learned to bat her eyes like that? He certainly appreciated the attention, but he couldn’t rinse that taste from his mouth and the look she was giving him wasn’t helping. 

He tried to recapture that feeling he had just had with Illya, that feeling that the Kirk in Riverside lived in: carefree and utterly unrepentant about his desires. The kid from Iowa who tried so hard to fight against his father’s legacy. That kid that had crushed anyone’s expectation that he would ever amount to something. But all he felt was that suffocating mask whispering that he was a fake and a failure.

With another glance down towards Illya and a ringing in his ears making Jim grimace at her he spun back around to the bar, ordering two shots urgently. He looked back at Illya to offer her one but her face had transformed from desire and more into an unsurprised acceptance. He was beginning to suspect he might have a bad knee-jerk reaction to people giving him genuine emotion. So fine. He’ll do his shots alone.

He offered an apologetic grimace and wished her a better night before slamming back the first shot of burning liquor, chasing the bitter taste from his mouth. George Kirk had been an amazing captain. Jim Kirk... Well his skills included drinking, fucking, and fighting. Probably in that order.

Jim decided to cut his losses and took up a seat at the bar, figuring he might as well not inflict this sour mood on anyone but the gleaming metal of the bar in front of him as he set his second shot back down with more force than the surface warranted.

Who was he kidding here. Telling someone that he was going to be a captain because he was born among the stars? What horseshit. His father was everything a Starfleet officer should be and Jim had always known he could never measure up so what was doing trying to be a cadet?

Even if by some miracle he did become a captain, how could he possibly beat his father’s  _ twelve minutes _ . Because that was what this was about wasn’t it.

The bartender replaced the empty shotlgasses with a drink and raised an eyebrow, Kirk just took the glass and began to drink; as long as he was still upright the barkeep could judge him all he wanted. Luckily the bar was busy even on a weekday, and the man was quickly called away to another customer.

This wasn’t just about becoming a captain, this was about proving everyone wrong, getting the last word with Pike. This was about getting out from under his father’s damned shadow. Jim rolled the now empty glass towards the edge of the bar, stopping it just as it was about to fall off the other edge, realizing as his arms gently flopped forward that the alcohol was really hitting his system. Good.

By the time he got another drink, the clock nestled between the wine glasses and spare shakers had ticked on to show him that he was well past when he should have started heading back to campus but he was also well past caring. 

Drink number eight found a Jim Kirk who bitterly contemplated his father with a level of animosity that he otherwise would have considered a bit unfair to be directed at a dead man. Even if that dead man couldn’t have been bothered to live long enough to meet his second son, give him a chance to know him. No, the only thing he had ever given him was a legacy that suffocated him.

Drink number nine created an unfortunately talkative Jim Kirk. “-because what’s the  _ point _ anyway? Why‘m I even bothering with all this stress and  _ effort _ when I’m never gonna be anything more th’n a dumb  _ hick _ from Iowa! Everyone back there wanted me t’be great ‘n stuff but I let them all down like... Every  _ day.  _  So what makes Starfleet any diff’rent? I mean come on!”

Jim waved a hand around him, luckily not the one holding his drink, and leaned closer to the man seated next to him who was nearly as drunk as he was and was making for an incredibly sympathetic audience.

“I fucking fought tooth ‘n  _ nail _ to not be anyth’n like my dad and now I’m going to be a Starfleet  _ captain _ ? What a fucking brilliant move Kirk, real smart that. And fucking sayin’ I would do it in three years? What  _ bullshit _ !”

Drink number ten was a little longer in coming and Jim suspected the bartender was actively working against his quest for alcohol poisoning so as the glass of whiskey was set in front of him, he clapped his companion--who had long since succumbed to a drunken stupor--on the shoulder and downed the entire glass.

He made his way off the bar stool without an ounce of grace and stumbled slightly on his way to the door. Though there was barely an eye on him, he swept a bow and bid the bar patrons a lovely evening before turning and working to maintain his balance as he made his lazy way back to the dorms.

He was halfway there when the last drink hit his system and his mouth shot up in a grin as he considered his situation. “Fuck it,” he muttered into the soft hazy night and started to make  his way towards a different section of campus entirely. Instead of the student dorm housing he was familiar with, there were apartments for cadets who came from other walks of life and wouldn’t sit well with rooming with a “kid” regardless of rank.

He knew for a fact that having a medical degree definitely earned you the kind of privilege that included a private room. Well that and a sour attitude that would have scared half the recruits out of Starfleet if they had tried to room with him.

The only problem with Jim’s master plan was that he had no idea  _ which _ apartment Mister Doctor Leonard McCoy resided in. And the late hour pretty much guaranteed that he couldn’t find someone to charm and tell him. Doctor McCoy- Leonard- god those names of his were too much of a mouthful. “McCoy. Leonard McCoy” Jim imitated in an unnaturally deep voice, making himself laugh, “What does he think he is, some kind of supervillain?”

As he walked in a mostly straight line he contemplated a better name for the man. Calling him Leo was laughable, McCoy was too impersonal, but Len seemed a little too... intimate. What else had he said when they met? Before he introduced himself, something something about his wife, space is death, blah blah blah... Oh that was it.

In his best-- _ worst _ \--Southern accent Jim imitated McCoy, “all I’ve got left is me bones!” The memory made him laugh hard enough to make his stomach slosh and he had to press a hand to his stomach to get himself to stop. He craned his neck upwards, hoping to catch sight of the stars but the light form walkway was too bright, and tilting his head threw his balance off.

As he waited for his muscles to relax, Jim’s mind wandered into contemplation, thinking more about that statement and McCoy himself. The man he had met--disheveled and reeking of sweat, terrified nearly out of his mind--was a far cry from the man that he had met a week later, cleanly shaven and groomed, dressed in immaculate reds.

He’d had half a mind to sleep with the man when he first met him--even under the layers of dirt and sweat from travel and life, Jim could see that he was attractive. But when he had seen him put together, it had shown Jim that whatever  _ he _ was, Leonard was an actual respected doctor who was way out of his emotional league.

Of course then Leonard had opened his mouth and ruined that respectable impression by swearing at him for staring and dammit man he had class! What was he doing there gawking! He better close his damn mouth unless he wanted bugs for breakfast!

The face Leonard presented to the academy was a polar opposite from the one Jim had met, but Jim was okay with that. He liked the doctor version, but he had befriended him at his space rant first and foremost. When he was nothing but his bones.

“Who the hell even says shit like that. Bones.... Wait, Bones? Bones!” Jim started laughing all over again, nearly making his sides cramp with the reaction. It was perfect, a name to make sure he never forgot who was beneath that clean-cut doctor getup.

At least Jim had figured out a better name for Leonard, even if it wouldn’t make much sense to him. He would have to explain it to him. And that would be hard. But wait, he had his phone in one of these pockets and he had  _ definitely  _  gotten the man’s number. Liquor might dull his brain but he got there eventually.

He could kill two birds with one stone: explain his brilliant new nickname and also figure out where the hell he was. Jim had gotten himself to the apartment buildings but he sure as hell didn’t know which way to go from here.

Jim fumbled the thin phone from his pocket and slid open the two ends, exposing the transparent plastic that made up the surface of the phone, lighting his face up brightly with his homescreen. With slightly numb fingers--it was the drink or the chill in the night air he just wasn’t entirely sure which--he scrolled through until he found the contact he needed.

He hadn’t really stopped to consider how rude it would it be to call someone this late at night but Leonard made sure he was fully aware.

“Do you have any damn clue as to what time it is! What in hell do you think you’re doing calling a man this late at night you had better be dying or so help me I’ll make sure you are!”

“Booooooooooooonnnnnnesssssss”

“...My God man, how drunk are you.”

Jim laughed, he couldn’t help it. He knew coming to find Leonard was the best idea. “Bones let me in.”

“Let you in-! Where the hell are you? And what’re you callin’ me now?”

“I’m out _ side _ Bones. You never told me where you lived and I can’t start knocking on doors because it’s  _ night time _ !” The last was said in an overly loud whisper and over the phone Jim could hear a rustle of fabric. Shit, he’d probably woken him up hadn’t he?

“I know damn well what time it is, do you know how cold it is? You could catch your death out there you fool!” Leonard’s voice sounded farther away, like he had put his phone down and was shouting in its general direction.

Jim lowered his phone to his mouth and blew a loud raspberry at it, “it’s not cold! It’s like..... Sixty.”

“And do you know what it would be like in Georgia right now? It pushes eighty even at night and don’t get me  _ started _ on the humidity!”

Jim just laughed fondly and leaned against the nearest lamppost he could walk to, “do you know what it’s like in Iowa?”

“I know damn well what it’s like in Iowa you fool kid, or did you forget that’s where we met?” Leonard didn’t give him a chance to answer before he was demanding his whereabouts again, which Jim struggled to give him the darkness. There was a distinct lack of landmarks when all of the buildings looked the same even in broad daylight.

Eventually the sound of Leonard’s swearing started to get closer and Jim was able to look up the sidewalk and see the man walking towards him. He slid his phone back into his pocket in a brief flash of foresight and threw up his arms, “Bones!”

Leonard moved quickly to get an arm under Jim as he fell into him laughing. With a grunt Leonard heaved him back upright and into a better position for walking. Like  _ hell _ he was gonna carry him.

“Bones... You’re so good.”

“You talkin’ to me kid?” Leonard asked as he sighed and gave in to just taking the kid back up to his room. It was closest and he at least had an elevator. He wasn’t going to spend the rest of his night ferrying him back to the dorms. He was a doctor dammit! Not a taxi service!

“Yeah... You’re good Bones. Real good ‘n stuff.”

“Now where in the hell did you get that name from?”

Jim laughed, focusing on his feet and trying to fight the sluggish feeling in his body as they walked towards one of the buildings. “It’s what you told me. When we met. You’re nothin’ but your bones. An’ you’re real name is too many syllables so. I gave you a new one. A  _ better _ one.”

Leonard shuffled him into an elevator in a building Jim didn’t remember entering and he realized that he was probably pretty damn lucky that Bones was so kind, because sleep was calling his name and like it or not, he was going to answer pretty soon.

The ride up was silent and when they reached their destination Leonard pulled him through the doors and down the hallway, stopping Jim’s mindless forward progression to slide open the door to his dark apartment. Still managing to keep Jim upright, Leonard kicked something in the darkness out of the way and took a cautious step away from Jim to turn and lock the door behind him.

Jim swayed slightly but remained upright when Leonard let go of him, which considering how heavy his eyelids were he was going to count as a victory at the moment. As he moved about his apartment Leonard’s quiet voice broke through Jim’s sleepy state, “I’m not just my bones anymore kid.”

Jim just smiled in his vague direction, “yeah, but you were when I met you. And I like your bones.”

Without responding to that Leonard shoved a blanket and pillow in his direction and it was then that Jim opened his sleepy eyes and realized that Leonard didn’t look like he had actually been sleeping, and that he might not have  been well acquainted with the concept for a while.

Jim wrapped the blanket around his shoulders and leaned against Leonard while he took his boots off, using the other man as extremely necessary support. Leonard struggled far less with his own boots which Jim thought was unfair.

The apartment was small so it was easy for Jim to see where the bedroom lay and he grabbed Leonard’s hand and pulled him forward, even as he protested. But the apartment was still dark and Jim was tired, his body was warm with alcohol and sleepiness and as he pulled Leonard into the bed, there wasn’t much fight from the man.

The last thing Jim saw was Leonard’s face inches from his own, utterly exhausted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, I almost named this chapter: A Captain? In This Economy?


	3. Just What Are Friends For Again?

It was only the insistent press of his bladder that forced Jim to open his eyes. His head was stuffed with cotton and his eyes were crusted with last night’s sleep, there was a throbbing in his skull that felt like his brain cells were continuing the dance from last night. He wanted nothing more than to keep sleeping but his body was too used to getting up in time for his morning classes. He was awake, like it or not.  

_ Fuck.  _ He was supposed to be awake and out the door already. What time was it even? And why hadn’t his alarm woken him? Raising a hand to rub his eyes into focusing, Jim stretched his neck to look over his shoulder but the lighting coming in through his window was wrong and he couldn’t see the spot where his clock was supposed to be sitting.

“What the...” Jim twisted his body to try and sit upright but was caught short by the blankets wrapped around his torso, making him panic momentarily as he freed himself and flung the offending cover to the floor, which was conspicuously not like his floor at all. The shitty carpeting was missing for one thing. And his roommate’s bed was also conspicuously absent.

Forgetting his need to pee, Jim froze and inhaled sharply through his nose as he clenched his eyes shut. He wasn’t in his room at all. 

Casting his thoughts back to the previous night Jim groaned quietly to himself, he could remember getting to the bar and ending up drinking like his night depended on it, but leaving the bar was a bit of a blur and why couldn’t he remember who he had gone home with? He hadn’t been  _ that _ drunk so he was  _ pretty _ sure he had left the bar alone.

Maybe if he just laid here for a few more seconds he would wake up in his own room with all of his work completed and this would all be a bad dream and he could go back to pretending he was actually captain material and wasn’t just some idiot kid from Iowa with a chip on his shoulder left over from his dead dad. Right? 

A groan to his left shut that idea down with gusto. With a quick sigh to fortify himself, Jim opened his eyes and slowly turned to find out the identity of his sleeping companion.  _ Leonard? What the hell! How did I end up in bed with him! _

This was bad, this was so bad. This was the worst possible situation Jim could have landed himself in. His head was still foggy from the hangover gently drilling through his skull but even so he knew that this was a disaster. The one guy on campus who didn’t seem to give a rat’s ass about where Jim came from or what he’d fucked up in his past and here Jim was, dropping an atomic bomb on their burgeoning friendship. 

It might not be the most gentlemanly move, but Jim had to get out of this room and fast. If Leonard woke up to find him in his bed with apparently no pants--so that wasn’t good--things were going to get awkward and the one real friend Jim had made would fall into the “ex-fuck-buddy” category that he had tried so hard to put an end to.

Jim sat and stared at the wall while counting to ten before he started to move, making sure that he wouldn’t be waking Leonard up--who still looked exhausted. He leaned over the edge of the bed closest to him and sent up a silent cheer as he discovered his pants, rumpled and definitely the worse for wear, but not thrown across the room like he feared. His jacket was crumpled up next to it and he knew he would be the most obvious walk of shame in history, but at least he wasn’t getting thrown out of the apartment in his underwear. 

Before he grabbed his clothes he sat back up and spun his head around, looking for a clock. Which in keeping with his luck was on the nightstand on the far side of the bed, on the other side of Leonard. Cursing his sleepy, out of focus eyes, Jim leaned ever so slightly closer to Leonard and held his breath, hopefully Leonard would stay asleep while he read the old clock face. 

Thirty minutes until his first class of the day, there was no way he could make it back to the dorms, get ready, and still get to class on time. But hey, he had already fallen back into his old habits, why not add cutting class to that list too? As he sighed again and rolled back over to grab his clothes, intending to find his boots on his way out of the bedroom, there was a disgruntled grumble from the sleeping form next to him, making Jim freeze. Which arguably was the wrong decision.

Leonard’s arm wrapped around his waist and yanked him back with a surprising show of strength, pulling him flush with his body. Leonard’s lips were hot against his neck as he nuzzled his skin and mumbled “Numandona only got three lungs. Real susceptible to bronchial distress...” 

Jim choked back a laugh as the adrenaline that had flooded his veins set his heart beating faster. Here he had been afraid that Leonard was waking up and his entire escape plan was rendered moot, turns out the man was a snuggler. And apparently had been studying too hard lately if he was dreaming about xenobiology. 

As Leonard’s voice trailed off into something about some species prone to leaking in their geriatric stage Jim gently grasped the wrist that was pinned against his stomach and started to move it far enough away that he could get up, but Leonard’s body was hot against his and surprisingly muscular for a doctor; he couldn’t move. 

Jim knew the man needed every ounce of sleep he could get, so he didn’t want to wake him but he really actually did have to pee and while he might have forgotten about that earlier, the vice grip around his abdomen was bringing the issue front and center.

“Leonard... Leonard!” Jim whispered at his sleeping companion, trying to get enough of his attention to move the arm but let him continue sleeping, blissfully unaware that Jim was in his bed... and arms. He really couldn’t think about that right now. Definitely a problem for later... way later. Probably a shower problem.  

“Come on Leonard... How the  _ hell _ are you this strong? Listen I never usually ask this after I’m already in bed with a guy but do you work out or something?” Jim’s voice rambled on as he tried to slip out from underneath Leonard’s arm, only succeeding in moving a few inches and starting to lose his shirt.

Jim exhaled and let his head fall back onto the mattress, thinking hard. If he was already going to skip class, then it didn’t really matter if he stayed here a few more minutes, but he was pretty sure Leonard had the same early schedule he did. The only difference is that where Jim had classes throughout the day, the good doctor had frontloaded his schedule so he could take clinical rotations in the evening. 

Even if Jim was fine throwing the morning away, Leonard didn’t need to have Jim screwing up his entire day as well. Even if Jim  _ really _ didn’t want to have the “morning after” conversation, he also didn’t want to see Leonard suffer consequences for his drunken idiocy.

Jim rolled over, which of course the unconscious Leonard allowed, and gently jostled the man’s arm, trying to wake him up, “Leonard, come on. You gotta get up... Paging Dr. McCoy, Dr. McCoy you’re needed in Medbay. Ugh come on you lump! How can one man sleep through this!”

Jim shook the man’s shoulder and was about ready to shout in his face when there was a ding from the kitchenette and a gentle grinding noise filled the air, “what the...” Jim let his attack on Leonard lapse as he listened carefully to the apartment coming to life around him. The grinding was followed by the sound of water percolating--coffee then, on a timer. 

He grinned, of course the doctor would have his coffee going before he was even awake, then on the other side of the apartment, the shower sprang to life and the sound of water falling onto tile joined the brewing coffee sounds. It was almost peaceful, and Jim had no idea how this would wake Leonard up when nothing he had done seemed to do the trick, but it certainly seemed like a nice way to wake up.

Until a blasting klaxon shot his heart rate through his ribcage and into the ceiling. The noise seemed to reverberate through the entire apartment and Jim had no idea what it signaled. Was San Francisco under attack? Did they need to evacuate? They hadn’t gone over this signal in evacuation drills with _his_ dorm.

In the space of a breath Jim had run through fifteen different scenarios they might need to currently be worried about and Leonard had finally removed his hand, and rolled away from him, seemingly still unconscious. “Oh come on man...” Jim muttered as he watched the other man snort, blink open his eyes, and glare at the world before continuing to roll, right off the edge of the bed before Jim could even react.

But the blaring alarm had stopped so Jim had a suspicion he was safe from needing to evacuate. Jim counted to ten, still hoping with some desperate part of his brain that this was all a really weird dream, before he sighed and sat up, watching Leonard, wondering whether he had busted his nose and whether a doctor could reliably set his own injuries. 

There was a muffled groan from the floor as Leonard got up and without looking towards the bed stumbled out of the room and out of Jim’s line of sight. The gentle sound of running water was muffled and Jim figured he had found his way into the shower. Now would probably be a good time to get dressed.

Jim had gotten his pants on and slipped his arms into his jacket, not bothering to fasten it shut while he hunted for his boots, trying to move as quietly as possible. He had just discovered a pile of shoes by the front door when the bathroom door slid open and Leonard walked out having taken the world’s shortest shower if the towel around his waist was any indication.

Jim jumped back, clutching two boots in his hands, hoping Leonard would walk past him. He wasn’t sure how he could possibly leave without getting the man’s attention at this point but a Kirk was stubborn to a fault and he would prove it.

Glancing down Jim bit back a curse, the boots in his hands were both left feet and he had no idea which one was supposed to be his. While he debated between the boots Leonard had made his way to the coffee pot and poured himself a mug, slipping a second underneath the stream of still pouring coffee. 

Jim watched in fascination as Leonard practically dumped the first mug of scalding coffee down his throat while watching the second fill with a predatory stare. He knew he ought to be solving the boot equation in his hands, but he couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from the half-naked man dripping onto the kitchenette tiles, inhaling caffeine as though his life depended on it. Leonard hadn’t even been awake a total of ten minutes and Jim was in awe of the level of minute planning that Leonard put into his mornings; he made sleep deprivation an art form.

As Leonard switched to the now full second mug, he replaced the pot back under the drip to catch the last few drops of coffee and Jim shook himself, turning his attention back to the shoes in his hands deciding that the scuffed toes probably belonged to him and he really needed to find the matched set and get the hell out of here.

“Hope yer not plannin’ on goin’ ta class lookin’ like that.”

Jim dropped the shoes he had picked up and jumped in his skin, looking up quickly to find Leonard staring at him with a disapproving eyebrow climbing steadily up to his hairline. The man leaned back against the counter and worked on finishing the mug in his hand, staring down any hope Jim had of letting this entire morning get swept under the metaphorical rug.

“Oh. Hey, uh. Leonard.” The presence of Leonard’s sleepworn southern accent, thicker than Jim had ever heard, stole away his eloquence. 

“Leonard now? That’s a nice change from last night.”

Jim winced and tried not to let out the exasperated scream building in his throat. What the fuck could he have possibly called Leonard last night and on a scale of 1 to “sir” how embarrassing was it?

“Yeah?” he asked in as casual a voice as he could manage and started jamming his boot onto his foot.

There was only a grunt in response and Jim looked up to see Leonard with his head tilted back, getting the last few dregs of coffee from his mug. When he set the mug down next to him, he rubbed a hand through his hair and shook some of the dampness out, making Jim’s eyes trailed up his body involuntarily before snapping back down to where he was balanced on one foot, shoe in hand.

Sometimes, life comes at you and hits you upside the head, repeatedly, until it gets its point across and you finally--for example--get your ass out of Iowa. But sometimes, there are small moments, where the truth can slip past you if you’re not paying attention, if you don’t trust your gut and act on it. Jim knew this was probably one of those moments.

He gave up on the shoe in his hand and let it fall to the floor, looking up at Leonard who had set his mugs in the sink and placed the remaining coffee in a travel thermos before moving away from the counter, heading back towards the bedroom. “Hey Leonard? I’m gonna use your bathroom real quick. Do you mind?” 

It was a simple question, answered with a simple wave of of agreement as Leonard shut the bedroom door to get dressed, but it was miles above Jim’s plans of flight when he had first woken up. He had come to the academy with plans on changing his image and running after a one night stand was not who he wanted to be. They were both adults, they could have sex and still be civil the next morning. 

As Jim walked out of the bathroom Leonard’s voice cut through the quiet air, “now we’re not exactly the same size but I figure you can borrow one of my spare uniforms so you don’t have to go to class all wrinkled to hell and back, you can just return it while I’m at the clinic or something.”

Jim was amazed at the transformation in front of him, the attractive, disheveled, fresh from the shower look had been replaced by an equally attractive, smartly dressed cadet who was holding out a neatly folded set of clothes.

Mistaking his staring, Leonard gave him a hard look and pushed the clothes into his chest until he grabbed them. “Don’t give me that, goin’ out an’ drinkin’ don’t mean you get a pass from classes. Now get a leg on it, we’re gonna be cuttin’ it close as it is.”

Jim just looked down at his own uniform and grimaced, Leonard had a point, but Jim wasn’t sure if this was a worse walk of shame or not. 

Leonard’s prompting “you’ve got two minutes to get dressed Jim” got him moving into the other room to quickly change, hoping his underclothes didn’t reek. He got dressed in rapid time and opened the bedroom door to have his boots shoved at him and an insistent Leonard pulling him towards the door.

All the way towards campus they didn’t talk about the previous night, except for one awkward overture Jim made when they were about to part ways, asking to meet up for lunch to which Leonard responded that he was acting like a fool trying to charm a lady.

“Well I mean, I was charming enough for you,” Jim rebutted.

Leonard stared at him, “the hell you talkin’ about kid? You mean last night when you called me in the middle of the night, drunker than a skunk and when I graciously let you into my home you went and passed out in my bed without bothering to take off your uniform?”

Jim glanced down at the borrowed uniform with confusion, “but, when I woke up I wasn’t wearing-”

“Yeah, you flop around like a bass on a hot pier when you’re sleepin’. Kicked off half your clothes and kept wakin’ me up ‘til-” Leonard glanced away for a brief second before continuing, “until I held you for a minute. Then you passed out cold until this mornin’.” 

The air between them was charged and uncomfortable while Jim looked away, trying to find the right words to say. “Right. So uh. Sorry? About that... I guess I shouldn’t assume everyone wants to sleep with me.” Jim laughed and ran a finger between his throat and the itchy collar of his jacket.

Leonard coughed and looked away before cursing as bells chimed across campus. “Listen kid, it ain’t no skin off my nose if the world is sometimes... too much.” 

Jim smiled, only slightly forcing the expression as he slowly walked backwards towards the building where his first class was starting, “that’s what friends are for right?”

Finally Leonard looked at him and scowled with little heat behind the expression, “yeah kid, that and putting up with phone calls in the middle of the goddamn night because their idiot friend decides he needs to go and test his liver on a  _ Tuesday! _ ”

Jim just laughed as Leonard stalked off in the opposite direction, most than likely still complaining about him. He had a feeling though that he would never really hear the  _ end _ of Leonard’s grumbling.

As he headed to his own class Jim racked his brain, trying to remember what exactly had happened last night. Leonard had said they hadn’t slept together, which, knowing Jim’s track record was probably for the best if they wanted to stay friends, but he had also said that he hadn’t been calling him Leonard. And if they didn’t have sex, what name had he been using?

With a grimace Jim picked up his pace as he entered the building with his first class, he was pretty sure that his professor wouldn’t be too mad at his tardiness, given that she herself wasn’t fully awake for the first twenty minutes of class. He was also pretty sure that he wouldn’t have used an ex’s name on Leonard but... only  _ pretty  _ sure.

 

Later that evening...

 

The halls of the clinic were a disconcerting shade of white, gleaming under the unforgiving lights that lined the ceiling. Jim’s boots echoed with each step he took but the sounds were quickly drowned out by the dull waves of noise that every hospital and its ilk seemed to summon; the rasp of scrubs worn by nurses and doctors, beeping of unknown medical instruments and the underlying murmur of dozens of voices talking at a level meant to inspire privacy. 

He walked past the entryway and over to where patients and medical staff alike congregated, cups of bitter and highly potent coffee in hand. The front desk was run by a friendly looking nurse with a familiar face so Jim went up and leaned against the counter with a smile, “excuse me but, is Dr. Leonard McCoy currently with a patient?” 

The nurse looked up from her rapid typing at Jim and immediately began to smile, “James Kirk! Now what are  _ you _ doing here?”

Jim smiled back, “Mary! It’s so good to see you! How are you and Leanne?”

Mary laughed and took her hands away from her computer, leaning forward to properly chat with Jim, “oh things are just great! Would you believe we’re actually thinking about getting a dog? There is this awful cute Rottie at the local shelter that has just  _ stolen _ Leanne’s heart and run away with it. We’ve been volunteering down there for about three weeks now and I swear I don’t know who looks sadder when we leave, her or that dog!”

“Aw good! I know she’s been wanting a dog. Is this the next step towards kids perhaps?” Jim winked in Mary’s direction, causing her to blush.

“Oh no! Don’t you even go there mister! We’ve only been married for four months now, I don’t want to hear any talk about kids for at least a  _ year _ !” They both laughed before Mary sat up straight saying, “now what I am doing? Chatting your ear off when you’re here on a mission. Dr. McCoy did you say?”

“Yes ma’am, I’ve got some things to return to him and I’m thinking about stealing him away for some nourishment if he hasn’t eaten yet.”

Mary shook her head and ‘tsked’ as she typed at her computer, “that man hasn’t taken a break since he came in here six hours ago, and I  _ know _ he had classes this morning to boot. His shift doesn’t end for another hour but you know what, he needs to take a break or he’ll work himself to the bone.”

With a flourish she tapped one last key on her computer and looked up to Jim with a satisfied smile, “there! He’s between patients now and I’ve moved the only other scheduled appointment to another doctor so he’s good to go with you. Mind you, that’s if you can actually  _ get  _ him to leave. Jim, sweetie? You okay?”

“Huh? Yeah no, right.” Jim shook his head and cleared away the memory that had flashed behind his eyes. “Thank you, you’re a savior Mary thank you!”

Mary just shook her head as Jim stepped back from the counter, “you make sure you get yourself some rest too Jim! The two of you are peas in a pod I swear.”

Jim just blew a kiss and winked at Mary who rolled her eyes fondly as he walked backwards towards the exam rooms where he knew he would find Leonard.

Leonard didn’t have the seniority to get a room with his name on the door, but there was one that he always tended to use and given the fact that the waiting room had been largely absent of patients waiting to be seen, it seemed a safe bet that he would have had his pick of rooms. The door itself was closed but Jim trusted Mary when she said that Leonard didn’t have a patient; he knocked gently and a muffled “come in” followed quickly.

As soon as Jim opened the door he was once again struck by the fact that he had somehow befriended someone who actually had their shit together. The  white of Leonard’s medical uniform seemed to glow in the pale lighting of the exam room, making his tanned skin stand out more than normal.

“Jim?” The voice broke Jim out of his staring and made him focus on Leonard’s face. 

“Leonard!”

“Jim, what in the hell are you doin’ here?” Despite his tone, Leonard leaned back in his chair and set his PADD down, focusing his full attention on Jim and relaxing ever so slightly.

“Leonard!” Jim repeated and hopped up on the exam table.

Leonard turned to watch him, raising an eyebrow, “okay good. We know each other’s names. Are you here for... An appointment?”

“You’re damn right I am” Jim kicked his legs and hummed gently, giving Leonard every impression he could that he was completely relaxed and supposed to be here, rather than having charmed his way into getting him the night off and absolutely conspiring to get him off campus one way or another.

Leonard narrowed his eyes in suspicion and picked his PADD back up, checking his schedule. “I’m pretty damn sure I don’t have you down as... I’m pretty damn sure my shift also isn’t over yet. You wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with this would you?”

Jim’s eyes grew wide in exaggerated surprise as he raised a hand to his chest and said in a breathy voice, “what! Me! Leonard what  _ do _ you accuse me of?”

Leonard just snorted and dropped the PADD back onto the desk he sat at. “Sure kid. You and those blue eyes of yours don’t have nothing to do with nothing. Now what in the hell are you here for and why are you messing with my schedule?”

“Now Leonard, I think you will find that there is absolutely no tampering from one James Kirk with your schedule. It was all done through quite legal channels.Also Mary says hi.” Smirking at the doctor, Jim tossed the bag he had carried on his shoulder at Leonard who caught it easily. “Als you’re the one who told me that I should drop your clothes off while you were working. Not my fault your old man brain forgot.”

Leonard rolled his eyes and set the bag next to his PADD, “I’m not even thirty yet Jim.  And besides, I figured you would just drop my uniform off when you came to pick yours up from my apartment. Or did you forget that you needed that too?”

Jim tapped the backs of his heels against the side of the bed he sat on, “hm, well you’re right about that. But since I don’t have a key to your apartment or anything, I guess I should just come home with you... But since I’m already  _ here _ , why don’t we just head out and grab a bite to eat?” He hadn’t meant for the last words to come out as a question but there they were with Jim looking at Leonard hopefully.

The doctor just shook his head “you mighta gotten me off the schedule kid but I’ve still got work that needs to be done. I’ve gotten more patients this week than I rightly know what to do with.”

As Leonard spun his chair to once again face the desk where a tower of PADDs waited his signature, Jim hopped off the table and spun his chair back around. “Come on! You’ve been working your ass off for days now, you deserve a break. You  _ need _ a break. If you keep this up you’re not going to be able to help anyone.” 

If the look in his eyes was anything to go by, Leonard remained unconvinced. Well Jim would just have to up the charm. “Just let me buy you a drink at least. Just one drink and then I can get my clothes and go back to the dorms.”

All Jim got for his troubles was an unimpressed expression and a stubborn Southerner, “I don’t need a drink kid. And besides, do you really need more drinks after last night? I’m not going to be hauling your ass around again tonight.”

Time for the the final assault, if this didn’t win Leonard over then Jim’s decades of charming people for fun and profit was all going to waste. “Well then... I guess you had better come with me and keep an eye on me, shouldn’t you... Bones.”

That got his attention. Leonard’s head whipped up and his eyes locked with Jim’s. “Oh hellfire. You remembered that damn name.”

Jim’s smile could have lit the entire campus, “I almost didn’t, but when I was trying to get in here Mary said something about you working yourself to your bones and it suddenly struck me how true that was. Bones. It’s a good name.”

Leonard just sighed heavily and leaned back, rubbing his face with his hands “it’s a damn fool name is what it is.”

“Aw Bones! It’s fitting! I mean come on, what was it they used to call doctors way back when? Back when they used to chop people’s limbs off because you had a better chance of living without them if you got hurt?”

“Sawbones?” Was the tired reply.

“See! It’s perfect! You’re a doctor--though thank god you don’t need to saw any actual bones--and you gave me what is probably the most memorable first impression of my life! And I mean, come on,” Jim’s voice softened as he took on a more serious tone, “isn’t it nice to have someone who saw you at your bare bones before meeting the doctor version and still wants you to stick around?”

There was a long pause where Leonard weighed Jim’s words and the seriousness behind them before finally shutting off the PADD he had picked up and dropping it on the desk with a gruff “ _ one  _ drink!”

It was one drink, until it was two, and then Leonard insisted they get food to balance the alcohol in their systems, and soon enough Jim and Leonard were relaxing and laughing with each other over their drinks, their bellies happily full of a good meal that even Leonard claimed was comparable to his homecooked Georgia fare.

“So Bones-”

“You gonna be doing that all the time now?”

“Well... I’ll stop calling you Bones if you stop calling me kid.” Jim’s grin was unrepentant, today was amazing. His head was lightly buzzed, Leonard was more relaxed than he had been in days, and they were finally hanging out off campus, no books in sight.

Leonard laughed and sipped his drink, he couldn’t argue with Jim and he knew it. “You’ve got me there kid.”

“So Bones,” Jim started again, ignoring the eyeroll Leonard gave him, “what’s got you so tired? There can’t be  _ that _ many idiot cadets getting themselves hurt and midterms aren’t even close.”

Leonard sighed and set his glass back down. “It’s the damnedest thing Jim, I haven’t been an honest to god doctor that long but, this many illnesses in one place just ain’t natural. I’ve got kids comin’ in with more colds and flus and Regallian pox than I’ve seen in my whole damn career.”

“Well, it is the season for it right? Even if San Francisco doesn’t have much of a fall.”

“It might be the season for it, but I’ve never heard of a season for this kind of...  _ epidemic _ of different sicknesses!” Leonard’s hands began moving to get in on the conversation, gesturing to make his points and making Jim glad the man had already set his glass back down on the table. “I’ve got cadets and professors and civilians coming in who don’t know their elbow from their nose and interns who can’t tell when a patient needs to be diagnosed with having a stick up their ass!”

Jim laughed, making Leonard scowl at him. “Sorry Bones, I’m just thinking it might be the doctor who isn’t heeding medical advice this time.”

Sipping his glass Leonard said, “what in the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Just that, it’s not like there’s an  _ actual _ epidemic going on, yet you’re working yourself mad, if I hadn’t come and dragged you away, how long would you have kept working before you went home?” Leonard’s silence was answer enough. “And last night, my memory is still pretty fuzzy, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t wake you up.”

Leonard looked at the glass in his hand darkly, “you don’t get it kid,” he said quietly. “I’m a doctor. I’ve got patients who rely on me. All these illnesses might not seem like much, just seasonal issues, except there’s just too damn many... I’ve got enough patients you would  _ think _ it’s an epidemic but all the symptoms are different!” 

Leonard looked back up at Jim, his eyes determined and steady, stuck on a problem he couldn’t easily fix. “There’s nothing relating them except for the timing but  _ apparently _ that’s not enough for the senior staff to let me start taking blood samples. We need to be testing everyone that comes in to find some sort of link between them but I just keep getting told that I’m crying wolf, like some kid fresh out of med school!”

Jim toyed with his glass and thought for a second, Leonard kept teasing him for flirting with everyone on campus but there were perks to making friends with the entire class, case in point, he might know someone who could help. But was helping Leonard worth the teasing he would never hear the end of?

While Jim debated, Leonard had barely paused for breath, “acting like I’m some dumb country hick--no offense--just cause I worked in a practice in Georgia! I’m taking classes on Xenobiology and Starfleet regulation not Anatomy 101! I’m a damn licensed doctor not Pre-Med! I shouldn’t have to get a permission slip signed just to order some bloodwork! And another thing-”

Jim sighed internally, he really did owe the man one after last night. He raised a hand to get Leonard’s attention before cutting his rant off, “so what you’re saying is that you need someone to do some labwork for you. Right?”

To his surprise, Leonard snorted and leaned back, finishing his glass. “Not really kid, what I need is the authority to order something as simple as a blood test when I need. I can analyze the blood myself in a few minutes, but that don’t do me much good if I can’t get the blood to begin with.”

Jim sat back himself and there was a moment of silence before he started laughing, making Leonard look up at him in suspicion. “So... Bones. What you’re telling me is that you need blood.”

“That’s not quite what I said...”

“It totally is. You said that the problem wasn’t analyzing the blood, it’s  _ getting _ the blood. Your problem is that you don’t have access to people’s blood.”

“Well when you say it like that it sounds like I’m some crazed vampire or-”

Jim stuck his tongue out and adopted the cheesiest accent he could think of “bluh! I need your blood! Bluh bluh! I’m just a vampire with no teeth so would you please sign these consent forms? Bluh!”

It had the desired effect, Leonard laughed, scrunching his eyes shut and throwing his head back. Little did he know how serious Jim was however, not about the vampire thing really, but he did think he knew someone who could help them.

The conversation derailed shortly after that, Jim continuing his ridiculous accent and feigning confusion when Leonard kept telling him to quit using it while Leonard did his best to pretend that it wasn’t making him laugh so hard he had a hand to his stomach. Eventually they paid their tab and made their way back to campus and towards Leonard’s apartment so that Jim could get his clothes back.

It was earlier in the night than it had been when Jim wandered his way over yesterday and the sun’s last dying light illuminated the buildings in a way that made them almost lovely to look at. The company was also a hell of a lot better than just his own drunk rambling for a companion.

As he stood in Leonard’s living space and leaned against the wall by the door, holding his haphazardly folded uniform in his hands, Jim smiled and laughed at himself as memories from this morning replayed in his head. “You know Bones, you are one terrifying force of nature in the morning.”

Leonard raised a confused eyebrow at him as he poured coffee grounds into the top of his coffee pot, leaning down to stare at the digital face as he set the timer for the following morning. “Whaddaya mean by that exactly?”

Jim’s voice was light as he laughed again while he watched him, “well I’m pretty sure you have the record for the fastest morning routine I have ever seen in my entire life, and yours included a shower. Also how-” Jim moved to walk over to the counter and had to dodge a pile of textbooks that towered precariously by the couch where they had not been that morning, “how do you manage to drink that much coffee in one go, everyday, without dying?”

Leonard just gave him a low chuckle, “you’ve never seen a kid in med school before, that’s nothin’. An’ in residency? When you’re still green around the gills? Try havin’ ten, twelve hour shifts and then tell me how much caffeine your body can handle.”

After Leonard got the machine set he straightened and reached one tanned arm above his head in a stretch spurring a loud, cracking yawn. Before Jim could make a snappy comment, he found himself yawning as well.

“Well shit, I guess I should be heading back to the dorms.” He gave Leonard a tired smile and turned back to the door, making sure he had his spare uniform tucked securely under his arm.

Leonard’s voice was soft, the apartment quiet and dark, “you can, stay the night if you need. Or want. I know it’s a long walk back across campus.”

The offer wavered in the dark, still air between them; Jim thought about the rushed work he had done in between classes earlier today, skipping lunch to get it done. He had had to make up for what he neglected last night as well as what he knew he wouldn’t get done tonight. If he stayed, he would have that much more work to do tomorrow, and he had plans he wanted to get started tomorrow. 

With his back to Leonard, Jim couldn’t see what was on his face, but he tamped down his initial heart-flutter reaction and turned with a grin plastered across his face, “aw Bones! You gonna miss me that much?”

Leonard huffed and crossed his arms, “I already regret the offer.”

Jim winked and cocked his fingers into the shape of a phaser which he aimed in Leonard’s direction, “don’t you worry Doc, I won’t be  _ imposing _ on you tonight. I’ve got to prepare!”

Unaffected by his charm Leonard asked, “prepare for  _ what _ ?”

Jim turned back to the door and slid it open, “you can’t say I’ve never done anything for you!” 

As he walked down the hallway he heard Leonard trying his best not to shout too loudly after him, “and what in the hell does  _ that _ mean!”

“I’m gonna get you your blood!”

“Jim!”

Jim laughed as he pressed the button to summon the elevator, he was the absolute best kind of friend, because he had lots of connections and oh boy was Leonard ever going to be surprised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god this thing got a little out of control. They wouldn't. Stop. Talking.   
> And now Bones needs blood; who saw this coming because the answer is not me.
> 
> Also since this thing has pretty much increased in length exponentially, I hope you've realized you're in for an epic-length of a slow burn, multi-faceted, riotous adventure that is going to span dozen of stories. So this is me telling you, you've been warned.


	4. Just What in Sam Hell Does Jim Think He's Doing?

**WEDNESDAY NIGHT**

When Jim got back to his dorm he peeked around the divider that separated the beds from the entryway and sighed in relief, his roommate wasn’t in, which meant that he didn’t have to worry about waking him up as he kicked off his boots and tossed his clothes into a heap by the laundry basket.

Laying on his back in bed in just his underwear, he rested one hand under his head and stared up at the ceiling, commanding the lights to dim and eventually shut off altogether. He already had a few ideas about how he could solve Leonard’s predicament, but there was a nagging thought at the back of his mind that he couldn’t get rid of.

Why was he so determined to do this?

Yeah Leonard was his friend, and a good one so far, but as much as he had joked with him earlier, what did he think he was doing planning ways to get people’s blood for the doctor to test? Was he trying to prove himself? Prove that he could solve any problem that came his way? Prove that he was the smart doctor’s equal?

Or was he trying to impress him?

Jim groaned and covered his face with his hands, was he really that shallow? The man had been gracious enough to care for his drunk ass after a 3am phone call, even letting him sleep in his bed when he passed out there, was he really going to try and hit on him too?

Funny how that condemning voice in the back of his head was absent when he thought about being around Bones. Maybe it was because of the way they met, maybe it was because he’d already fucked up and Leonard didn’t seem to really care too much.

Maybe it was because Leonard didn’t seem to want anything from him. He was as equally unimpressed with Jim’s mistakes as he was with his charm. All that self-doubt had nothing to latch onto and torture him with because Leonard didn’t seem fazed one way or another.

Leonard was one in a million.

Jim rolled onto his side and hugged his pillow to his chest, contemplative. Leonard was probably one of the best people Jim had ever met, and while that wasn’t exactly the highest bar for someone to leap over, it was still noteworthy. The weeks he had known him had only served to continue to impress upon him how lucky he had been to befriend the man. He really didn’t want to think about how crappy his years at the academy could be if he didn’t have the man’s constant grousing to entertain him in their shared classes.

He didn’t know much about Leonard’s past other than the fact that he had gotten divorced in Georgia and ended up in Iowa somehow before deciding that launching himself into space was a reasonable move for an aviophobe. It didn’t take a huge leap of logic for Jim to assume that there was more to the story than what he had been told.

Even with pieces of Leonard’s past missing from the story, Jim could see the doctor’s intense loyalty and devotion to his craft and the people that it included. He was as equally careful in regenerating a child’s skinned knee as he was in his rounds in the emergency department. When they met up on weekends to study and hang out, Leonard’s tales of his patients held equal reverence for life even as he complained about every single one in the same breath.

So maybe that was the real reason he was doing all of this, because Leonard was a good man with an amazing heart and it was hard to see him get stalled by something so simple as getting permission from the right people.

And okay maybe Jim sympathized with that a little.

And even if the good doctor scared away any and all networking opportunities with that sour attitude of his, Jim had been cultivating his relationships on campus since the moment he got here and he had just the person in mind for this little favor.

Jim rolled over and reached for the tablet on his nightstand and in the gentle glow of the screen starting drafting a message to the one person who might not think he was _completely_ crazy when he started off a conversation with _so I was curious about doing a blood drive for personal reasons..._

 

**THURSDAY MORNING**

Jim brushed one hand over his hair and practiced smiling into the mirror. _Maybe if I smile with more teeth... Nope. That looks even more like a psycho._ Jim sighed, “sometimes I almost miss Iowa.”

With a laugh he brushed his hair back into place and winked into the mirror, this might be one of the craziest plans he’s ever come up with, but damn it was going to be fun if he could pull it off.

Walking onto the green grass of campus Jim breathed deep and grinned at the blue sky above him; the air was charged with anticipation, the chatter of students filling his ears with plans being made and friends greeting each other. He waved to everyone as he walked by, occasionally winking and sending a smile. It was going to be a good day.

Double checking where he was walking, Jim kept glancing at the buildings brilliantly reflecting the sunlight around him. He knew where he was going but he had only ever been here once with Leonard when he was meeting up with him to go out for drinks.

Jim entered the large, pristine building and grinned at the man sitting at the desk, “hello there sir, Jim Kirk. I believe I have an appointment.”

The man cocked an eyebrow and a small smile lifted his face in spite of himself. “Right. An appointment with...?”

Jim grinned all the brighter, “Cynthia Fischer.”

“...Dr. Fischer is expecting you?” His voice was doubtful, every ounce of his voice dripping with disbelief but Jim’s smile never faltered, he knew what he was up against.

“Well let’s just say that she wouldn’t be surprised to see me.”

“What could a cadet have to do with the doctor? She’s a very busy woman and there are plenty of qualified medical officers on campus that could see to your needs.” The man’s voice had closed the conversation, assuming that there was nothing more to be said to, or from, Jim.

“There are!” Jim hastily leaned down to catch the man’s attention again as he turned his face back to his console. “There are... But Dr. Fischer is shall we say... uniquely suited to the task I had in mind.” Jim really hoped the receptionist was new and didn’t have a bullshit meter that could smell him from a mile away.

Sometimes, Jim Kirk realized that he really ought to plan things ahead before he leapt straight at them. Most of the time, this realization came just in time for it to be too late to do anything about it. Like right now. Right now, Jim was in the process of realizing that he sounded less like the intriguing scientist he had hoped to be and more like a threatening potential stalker.

It was therefore of little surprise when the receptionist’s face began to close off as he leaned back from his desk, “right. I’m sure kid. Now look, you can leave this building or I can make a real quick call to Security.”

Jim sighed and quickly rethought his strategy; this had been much easier in Iowa where most folk were concerned with their harvests or their work and were less suspicious all together. Everyone knew everyone where he came from, and it made people think they knew each other.

“I’m sorry, I know how that sounded. I really do have an appointment... of sorts... with Dr. Fischer. I know that she’s beyond busy but I won’t take more than five minutes it’s probably why she didn’t tell you I was coming.”

The receptionist remained stubbornly unimpressed, “right. And what could you possibly have to talk to her about, _cadet_?”

“Community engagement.” The words were out of Jim’s mouth before he had stopped to consider what they were going to be. But there they were and all he could do now was clamp his jaw shut with a strained smile and hope that they meant more to the receptionist than they did to him.

_Community engagement? Really Jim? Where the hell did that come from and where the hell am I going with it..._ His mouth could be faster than his brain and it was usually a solid 50/50 shot as to whether that got him _out_ of trouble or into more of it.

Even though he didn’t always acknowledge the fact, Jim really was an intelligent man. He picked up on things that other people would brush over, that they wouldn’t think twice about if they noticed at all. He usually used it for talking his way into beds and out of jail cells but if he wanted to be a captain--and oh, did he ever--he was going to have to trust that gut instinct even when it seemed ludicrous.

So when his mouth spit out “community engagement” he had no choice but to roll with it as far as it would take him.

It was the sudden recognition flickering in the man’s face that pulled a memory from the previous evening out of the depths of Jim’s mind, providing him with the last piece of the puzzle needed to recall where “community engagement” had come from.

The receptionist’s head cocked lightly to the side, his voice was still doubtful, but his eyes were inquisitive. “You were the one Dr. Fischer was speaking with last night?”

Jim nodded, “yeah I sent her a message and then she called me this morning.”

With a wary expression, the receptionist leaned forward ever so slightly and pressed a button on the desk, a small chirp of static before the call connected to another room and he began to speak, “ma’am, I have someone here requesting to see you, wondering whether you want to see them.”

A tired, feminine voice answered through a small speaker, “oh? Who is it Tim?”

Jim cleared his throat and said confidently, “it’s Cadet Kirk ma’am.”

There was a loud explosion of swearing muffled only by the static that began to filter through the speaker, the man--Tim--leaned forward in concern, “ma’am?” The swearing continued until the communication cut off completely.

Both of the men slowly turned towards each other. Jim gave a broad, pained grin that didn’t meet his eyes while Tim’s mouth and eyes flattened out in tired disapproval. A door to Jim’s left burst open and a dark-skinned woman dressed in rumpled, white medical wear came charging out, heading straight towards the front desk where Jim was standing.

“Cynthia!” Jim raised his hands in defense as she brought herself up in front of him, her eyes lit with fire as she stabbed a finger into his chest, the layers of his uniform doing nothing to pad himself from the point of her nail.

“You! Are an absolute maniac, you know that?”

“I’ve been told something similar once or twice.”

The short woman continued to glare at him and brushed her tight, curly hair out of her eyes. “Ma’am?” Tim interject, “shall I have him escorted out?”

“Oh geez no, he’s not worth the trouble. He’s a bit mad but largely harmless I’m sure.”

Jim felt as though he should be offended, but Cynthia was stepping back and heading towards the door she had come from, leaving him to scramble to follow her. His feet stuttering as he moved quickly to follow her, he threw a cheeky salute over his shoulder to Tim who just shook his head and mouthed “good luck” to him.

Once through the doors, Jim caught back up with Cynthia and let himself crane his neck to stare around the area, there was the usual cleanliness that a scientific research facility always had, but as they entered the lab that Cynthia worked in there was a noticeable amount of chaos in how objects were stacked and organized.

As Jim was getting his fill of looking around, Cynthia abruptly turned and stopped Jim in his tracks. “Cadet.”

“Ma’am?”

“Let’s go over this one more time.” She paced as she spoke, every movement a carefully controlled release of endless energy. “You want to organize a blood drive.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“You want to organize this in the space of a _week_ -”

“Yes ma’am.”

“-and you want to get students, staff, _and_ _civilians_ to come.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“And you’ve come to me for help because...”

“Because I need credibility.” Every Kirk knew the best lies were the ones that weren’t a lie at all. “I’m just a cadet, and a first year at that. If I want this to work, I need someone with status to their name to make this go anywhere. If I want to be able to reach people, I need them to listen to me, and nobody is going to listen to Cadet Kirk.”

Cynthia nodded, making Jim hopeful that he was being convincing. “You know you’re insane.” Jim grinned and nodded, “you know this is impossible.”

Jim inclined his head and gently lifted her hand, “you’ve always sought the impossible Dr. Fischer.”

Cynthia snorted and a small smile finally crept onto her face, easing some of the pinched worry that lived between her eyes and creased the lines of her cheeks. “Flattery will only get you front rows seats to my next lecture.”

“Well Dr. Fischer, we _did_ meet at one of your lectures on the impossible. It only seems fitting to try and sweet talk my way into another.”

Cynthia pulled her hand away and smiled, an honest and endearing smile and Jim knew he had won her over. Sometimes people were easy, they just wanted to feel important and special, even when they know that the banter isn’t meant to lead anywhere. And Jim did mean what he said to Cynthia, she was a brilliant scientist and he really hoped Leonard would be able to meet her if this all worked out.

Cynthia leaned down on the table in front of her, piled high with real old fashioned papers, ripped at their edges and covered in writing in a barrage of different colors. “Now Jim,” she gathered some of the papers and began sorting them into haphazard piles.

Cynthia looked down at the papers in her hands and avoided Jim’s eyes as she said, “when you messaged me last night about your idea, I of course dismissed it immediately. I have entirely too much on my plate and cannot be bothered to do your research for you, I am a professional and the deep space medicine I am currently working on is coming from the hands of millions of dollars in grants so taking even a few hours away from my work would be irresponsible and immature.”

Jim nodded, she made a fair argument and he told her so. He wanted her help because she was one of the few people on campus who had the leverage to pull off what he wanted to do _and_ knew him well enough to maybe help. If she couldn’t help he certainly wasn’t going to _stop_ his quest, but it would be a helluva lot easier if he did have her help, even if it took a bit of convincing.

But Cynthia was smirking at him, crossing her arms and nodding at the table where she had been shuffling papers as she talked.

Suspicious, Jim looked over to the papers and picked a pile up from where she had left it by her hip. It was facts and figures and the bare logistics of everything he had emailed her about the night previously. Looking back up at Cynthia’s gentle laughter, she explained, “like I said, taking time away from when I was supposed to be _working_ would be irresponsible. But if I work during the night…”

“Then you’re only taking time away from when you’re supposed to be _sleeping_ , right?”

“Got it in one Jim!” Her smile was beatific as she sought out a particular paper, scattering the fragile heaps she had just constructed in her quest. “Now see, I know that you have your own reasons for wanting a blood drive of all things and I know you aren’t sharing them with me so I’m taking a risk in trusting that those reasons aren’t terrible ones.”

Jim couldn’t help himself, he had to ask, “why then? Why trust me?”

Cynthia stilled for the first time since they had walked into her lab together, no pacing or fidgeting or shuffling of papers, and regarded Jim with serious and knowing eyes. “You remember the lecture where we met,” Jim nodded. “Well, you stood out that day. Not least of all because you were one of the only cadets there voluntarily, but also because you had absolutely no reason to be there. You didn’t understand half of what I was talking about and as far as I know, still don’t.”

Jim shrugged, “I have a doctor friend, he helped me understand a lot of it. And then...” he shrugged again, the redundant gesture instinctive.

“What you didn’t understand you came to me for,” Cynthia finished for him. “Invited me out for coffee and seduced me with questions about antigens and Richardson particles and the effects of atmosphere on our hemoglobin. Some of which was in my lecture and some of which you found in your own studies. I was impressed Jim. You still didn’t grasp the minutiae what we were talking about, but you stuck with it until you could hold a conversation with me and when I asked you why you were so interested? You told me that you wanted to be a captain, as if that explained everything.”

Jim remembered, it hadn’t been that long ago after all; hers had been one of the opening lectures for the academy, whether to try and inspire the students to expand their horizons or terrify them into going to class he still wasn’t sure. Leonard had mentioned offhand that he wanted to go and Jim stuck with him. Partially for the hell of it, partially out of curiosity.

They had barely known the campus at that point; they knew where their sleeping quarters were and where to eat but most cadets still got lost at least once or twice on the way to class. Leonard had just started his hours at the clinic and Jim was starting his quest to know everyone he saw.

The two of them had just gotten a quick lunch at one of the cafes on campus, sitting in a sunny patch that was warm when the clouds weren’t threatening when Jim had asked if Leonard still planned to go to the lecture that evening. He was pretty sure the responding grunt meant yes, as Leonard was more focused on inhaling his sandwich than forming words.

He earned himself a laugh by asking if this meant Leonard had plans to head out into the black with him.

The subject of the lecture was entirely theoretical, discussing how medicine did and did not change the further away from Earth you travelled. As Dr. Fischer presented her theories and experiments, Jim had found himself thinking about all the ways in which this information would be necessary and useful on a starship, and having little knowledge of practical medicine, turned to Leonard who sat next to him taking notes.

About halfway through the lecture Leonard had finally shoved a tablet at him and told him to just start recording his questions because he was spending more time explaining what Dr. Fischer said to Jim than he was hearin’ what the damn doctor was sayin’ in the first place!

When the lecture had ended Jim was so engrossed in his notes that he didn’t notice until it was too late that Dr. Fischer had already vacated the stage and Leonard was about ready to leave without him. They had stayed up late that night, poring over Jim’s questions and the notes Leonard had taken, even opening Leonard’s textbooks when the doctor wasn’t completely certain of an answer.

Eventually Leonard had started to fall asleep at the library table where they had taken up residence and Jim had started drafting his questions more coherently so that they could tackle them again the next day. After Leonard had left for his bed there had been nobody around to tell Jim that messaging one of the most lauded scientific heads in the entire Medical Department of the Academy at three in the morning was a bad idea.

To his surprise, his sleep addled brain had woken to the sound of his messaging notifications going off like gunfire. He had nearly fallen out of his bed and gotten a pillow chucked in his direction from his roommate before he finally opened the messages and silenced them. They had all been from Dr. Cynthia Fischer demanding follow up to some of his questions that he couldn’t even remember asking.

In his unthinking and tired form, he had sent back a request for coffee and the suggestion of one of his preferred cafes--it had a good roast and also Leonard enjoyed their lack of policy on how much caffeine they would sell to one student. So they ended up there more often than not.

She had responded immediately and he was left hoping that he didn’t look too bedraggled as he yanked his neatest uniform on and rushed out the door. She was already on her way.

Their coffee date had stretched until Jim’s first class of the day at eleven and he was still forced to race across campus to make it on time, Cynthia had been even more fascinating to talk to in person than she had been to listen to.

He should have known when he commed her about a blood drive out of the blue;she had a keen eye, of course she could tell that there was more to this crazy request than he let on.

As Cynthia stared at him in the present, Jim was pulled from his memories, in answer to her words he thought to himself, being a captain pretty much _was_ the explanation for everything he had done since coming to San Francisco. He held up his hands and grinned with amusement, “the more you know, the better a captain you’ll be. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll be out in the black and something we talked about will save my life.”

Cynthia raised an eyebrow but her accompanying grin diffused any real doubt she had in him. “Maybe someday it will, who knows. What I _do_ know, is that even when you do something that seems spontaneous, you find a way to make it useful. So how is this blood drive useful to you Jim Kirk?”

With her eyes steadily staring at him, Jim felt compelled to answer honestly. He didn’t want to lie to her, but he _really_ didn’t want to try and explain why he needed people’s blood. Even to another doctor the idea would sound insane, especially because it wasn’t like Leonard even knew what he was doing. He didn’t even know that he and Dr. Fischer knew each other. So, the _whole_ truth wasn’t going to be an option.

“It makes me look good. A captain needs to be someone that thinks about the people around him. Someday I’m going to be in charge of over four hundred lives and if I show that I’m someone who thinks about people as more than commodities it will look good to the brass.”

“Isn’t that commodifying them anyway?”

“I think of it as a win-win scenario. I look good, you doctors get a research opportunity, and the people who come get to feel like they’ve done their part in helping out.”

Cynthia nodded, accepting what he was saying. “You’re not wrong, and some of the ideas you had about testing this blood would pay out. I’ve already got a few names in mind for who would be interested in helping out. And there are always residents and interns we can coerce into helping out. That’s going to be our biggest problem, getting the sheer quantity of trained volunteers needed. That and getting the word out.”

Jim nodded and looked back down at the papers she had gathered, it was obvious there was little organization in general, each paper seemed to have been written on in whatever was closest at hand when an idea struck, regardless of what the paper had been a part of or whether it already had completely separate ideas written down.

Cynthia had clearly not slept a wink all night and instead spent the entire time coming up with ranges of tests she wanted to implement. Ever since medicine had advanced far enough to create synthetic blood there had been little need for the proper blood drives of old and so Cynthia was excited about the large range of blood samples she could get if this all worked out.

“It should be pretty easy to get students to come, especially if we can offer incentive, like class credit or something..” Jim trailed off, there was no way they would be able to swing something like that in one week, getting the professors to agree to it would take weeks.

The two continued to bounce ideas off of each other as Cynthia worked on samples she had prepared for her actual work, pressing Jim into service grabbing instruments or samples as needed. It was much the same sort of work he had done as a mechanic back in Iowa and left plenty of space for his mind to wander and chew on the various problems that his plan was snagged on.

Then he remembered a conversation he had had recently with Leonard. “Hey Cynthia?”

“Yeah Jim? Pass me that pipette.”

Handing the small instrument over to her, Jim carefully started to spell out his idea. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think there’s a requirement in the Academy where you have to get basic physicals done at least once a year right?”

Cynthia nodded, her eyes pressed up to a microscope.

“So... What if we shot two birds with one stone here. We’ll give the medical students a chance for experience outside of the classroom and the students who donate blood can get a quick exam so they don’t have to worry about scheduling an actual appointment. That solves the manpower problem, and you can get a message sent out to the entire student body, so that should get us a bunch of people already.”

Leaning away from the microscope and rubbing her eyes, Cynthia nodded again, “that shouldn’t be too hard, we do similar events throughout the year anyway. But how are we going to get civilians interested? We can’t offer them the same deal, they’re bound to have their own doctors in the city they would rather go to.”

Jim rubbed a hand on his chin as he thought, “what if... Well. I’m doing this for community engagement, and I’ll bet there’s a bunch of other cadets on the command track who think the same way I do. What if we get some of them. I know there’s a few in one or two of my classes who would be able to get through to a lot of people. And if we get some of the older cadets, they probably know a lot more people that they can reach.”

“Oh!” Cynthia turned fully away from her work as an idea struck her, “we can get posters printed and tickets to hand out, civilians can turn them in for a free bagel or something!”

Jim’s eyebrows drew together, “where are we going to get that many bagels?”

“Oh, right. We only have a week. Hm, well. Okay how about this, most of the ice cream places in the city will have closed for the season by now, but I know a few that stay open later because they have seating inside. This time of year they’re not going to be selling much so I bet they would be willing to do coupons we could hand out.”

“That could work!” Jim was getting excited, this insane plan might actually get off the ground. “Oh crap, Cynthia I have to-”

“Class right. I’ve got this to work on and doctors to talk to. You talk to your fellow cadets and I’ll talk to my colleagues and we’ll meet back up this weekend outside of work hours?”

Jim couldn’t help the smirk that strode across his face, “oh Cynthia, how scandalous! Meeting a cadet outside of work hours? What _will_ people think?”

His hasty retreat was met with laughter and threats to throw very expensive equipment at his back. Like a true tactician he was already planning when and how he was going to broach the topic with his classmates, a few of which he already had a positive rapport with.

 

**SATURDAY MORNING**

Jim leaned back in his chair and rested his feet on the legs of the table, swiping his spoon through his dish and sticking the treat in his mouth while he stared across the table.

He smirked as he slowly pulled the spoon out of his mouth with a satisfying pop from between his lips.

“Alright kid, what the hell.”

Jim let himself smile and let his chair fall back to the floor, “Come on Bones, I’m sure even grumpy doctors like you can enjoy a treat with a good friend, no, a _great_ friend.” He couldn’t help how his smile kept stretching farther up his face, this was just too good. Leonard was absurdly suspicious, to the point where he hadn’t even touched the bowl Jim had set in front of him after he had practically forced him into the white metal chair.

He had already been suspicious when Jim had said he wanted to go into the city with him, that there was someplace he wanted to check out. When they had walked into the building he had only said “Jim it’s nearly _October_ -” before he was cut off and Jim was forcing him towards a table.

Leonard had known something was up when Jim had gone up to the counter to order for the two of them and it had taken over twenty minutes. They were the only customers in the building save for a young child and her fathers, out for a treat on a sunny Saturday. Leonard’s eyes had squinted as he set his stare firmly on Jim’s head where he let it burn a hole until he came back to the table with the bowls in hand, handing him a plastic spoon.

Leonard had not touched his ice cream, even though it _did_ look good and he hadn’t had mint chocolate chip since he was a boy. He was too busy trying to figure out what in the hell Jim could possibly be up to. So he crossed his arms and leaned back, “kid. There is no way that this isn’t some plot to get _something_ out of me. Or you’ve done something that I don’t know about yet and you want to apologize.”

Jim just shoved another spoonful in his mouth, letting his grin dance in his eyes as he avoided the questions being tossed his way.

Eventually he pointed down with his spoon, “you know, it’ll melt if you don’t eat that soon.” Leonard didn’t move, so Jim reach over and made to swipe the dish, only to have his hand smacked with the back of a spoon. “Ow!”

“Jus’ cause I’m not eatin’ it don’t mean _you_ get to eat it. I swear Jim, you’re not eighteen, you’re not supposed to have a hollow leg anymore.”

“Aw come on Bones, it’s getting all melty... It would be such a waste.”

“Shoulda thought of that before you went and ordered without asking me.” Leonard held the bowl up and away from Jim’s reaching fingers.

“Oh. Do you not want it? I thought you liked that flavor but I can get you a different one if you... want...” Jim trailed off as Leonard stuck a huge spoonful in his mouth, slowly pulling the utensil away from his lips. “Nevermind.”

Leonard pointed the spoon at Jim’s staring eyes and said, “I expect an explanation still.”

Jim shook his head and sat up in his chair instead of leaning across the table, “what more of an explanation do you need? Ice cream is good and I wanted to go out for ice cream with you. Who doesn’t like ice cream?”

“Then what were you doing up at the counter for twenty minutes?”

“What I’m not allowed to make friends? Maybe I was telling them you were single and ready to mingle?”

“What!?” Leonard spun around in his chair to stare at the woman behind the counter, chatting with one of the dads who had gone up to pay for his family’s ice cream while the other got a jacket on the little girl.

Jim laughed and nearly snorted into his ice cream as he lifted it to his face to drain the last licks and simultaneously hide his face. “I’m joking Bones, really.”

“You better be.” As the doctor grumbled and fought the heat in his face with the cold treat in front of him, Jim continued to bite his tongue. One week, he only had to wait a week before Bones would either be completely floored by how awesome he was, or run him off for real.

But for now he had a meeting to get to with a scientist that he was more than likely going to have to drag away from her work station, so even though they weren’t supposed to meet for another ten minutes, he figured he should get headed her way.

“Hey, Bones?” Jim collected his bowl and started to walk over to the wall where the recycler was.

“Yeah, Jim?”

“Promise me that once I walk out of here you’re not going to go and harass the nice people behind the counter.”

Leonard snorted as he scraped at the sides of his bowl, “I don’t make promises I can’t keep, kid.”

“At least go easy on them, they’re mostly innocent, probably.”

“Good _bye,_ Jim.” In spite of the harsh tone, Bones had a smile on his face.

  


**MONDAY NIGHT**

 

Jim was a little nervous when he got a message from Leonard asking him to meet him at the bar. It was a Monday night and Leonard was pretty strict about not getting drunk on weekdays, but he was especially ruthless about Mondays, when he would be on his feet from seven in the morning until his clinic shift ended at ten that evening.

So Jim was probably in trouble.

Except he had no idea why he was in trouble. He was pretty sure he hadn’t done anything monumentally stupid recently, he had been too busy keeping up with his classes while trying to prepare for the weekend.

As he walked into the bar that was quickly becoming a favorite haunt of theirs, Jim scanned across the room for Leonard, finding him holed up in a corner booth with his back to the wall. There was already a whiskey in front of Leonard, but it didn’t look like he had touched it much, which was either a good thing--he hadn’t driven Bones to drink--or it was a _bad_ thing because it meant he was lying in wait for Jim.

The best thing to do was lean towards the good option and try to make Leonard forget any reason he might have to be mad at him.

“Bones!” Leonard looked up in mild surprise and almost immediately scowled, which admittedly, was not an unexpected response, Leonard was always scowling at the world. Jim slid into the seat across from him and leaned back, looking as though he had not a care in the world. “What are we drinking tonight Bones?”

“Whatever the hell you want Jim, I ain’t buyin’ your drinks.”

“Harsh, Bones.” Jim furtively glanced at Leonard’s face, trying to gauge whether he was actually angry or just being his normal gruff self. He didn’t _seem_ particularly angry, but the way he swirled the liquor in his glass was a tad too pensive for a normal Leonard. Something was definitely off.

“Right. I’ll just, go up to the bar then...” Quickly, Jim slid back out and up to the bar where he ordered a whiskey, matching Leonard’s drink. Waiting for the bartender, Jim was struck with worry, what if Leonard had figured out what he was doing? What of Leonard had somehow figured out what he had planned and was going to tell him that he was an idiot and that nothing he was planning was going to help anyway?

As his drink was placed in front of him and he paid the bartender, Jim felt real doubt begin to worm its way through his skull; he had gotten this insane plan underway _for_ Leonard, and if he was that mad about it, Jim might have really hurt this friendship. He shook his head, all this planning was making him paranoid, if Leonard was really that mad he wouldn’t have invited him out for _drinks_ he would have called him and chewed him out, or grabbed him on his way to class to yell at him.

Leonard wasn’t the sort of man who got a kick out of watching people squirm, he wasn’t the kind of person to make a spectacle out of his disagreement. He said what he meant when he meant it and he never laid traps or played mind games with his friends. Leonard was a good man.

As Jim walked back over and slid into back across from Leonard he looked up and asked, “so what are we drinking on a Monday for?”

“We’re commiserating is what we’re doing!” Leonard exclaimed, his voice carrying past their tables and making more than one person turn their heads to look in their direction, causing Leonard to duck his head and lean over his glass again.

The corner of Jim’s lips quirked up as he fought a smile, “what exactly... are we commiserating?”

“Joinin’ Starfleet for one.”

Jim raised his glass, thinking about his classes and reports he had due,“cheers to that.”

They both sipped from their glasses and Jim felt his worries lessen themselves even further, Leonard just wanted to complain about being a part of Starfleet yet again, he had no intention of yelling at Jim.

Leonard pulled out a PADD and turned it on, flicking to a screen that he turned to show Jim, who set his drink down and pulled it closer, beginning to read. It was a message that had been sent out to the entire campus, not Leonard personally.

 

_Hello students, staff, and Starfleet!_

 

_I wanted to bring to your attention an event happening this Saturday! The Medical Department is hosting a_ _blood drive_ _that will take place on campus in the Evans building from_ _9am to 3pm_ _!_

 

_Why are we hosting a blood drive, you may ask._

 

_The answer: for science!!_

 

_We are hoping that we can get a huge turnout donating their blood for our cause, which is the betterment of science! Each blood sample taken will be added to the labs’ database for the purpose of studying and testing new drugs intended for use during space exploration. With your help, we can keep our Starfleet officers safer and healthier on their longest voyages into the furthest reaches of space!_

 

_So come and join us on Saturday! We will be handing out coupons to the first_ **_400_ ** _donors for a free ice cream at Mica’s Ice Cream Parlour on Charlotte St!! There will also be fruit and drinks for all attendees provided!_

 

_We can’t wait to see you there!_

 

_-Dr. Cynthia Fischer_

 

Oh. This was what Leonard wanted to commiserate about. “A... Blood drive?” Jim asked hesitantly.

“A freaking blood drive! It’s like their trying to rub it in my face!” He grumbled into his glass and took another drink, a veritable stormcloud appearing over his head. “I mean come on! The timing? It’s too damn peculiar.”

Jim set down the PADD gently and looked nervously up at Leonard, “oh? What do you mean?” His heart stuttered in his chest but his voice was firm and unshakeable.

“Come on Jim, you know I was _just_ complaining about how I can’t get the permission to take any blood samples, and here now the Med Department is hosting a _blood drive_!?”

Cautiously Jim answered, “yes?”

“Jim.” Leonard set his glass down and leaned across the table to look Jim in the eyes, “we don’t even _need_ blood donations anymore. We _make_ synthetic blood.”

“Oh right, of course. Damn, that doesn’t make any sense. But I mean, they said it was for science, not for medicine, right?” Jim counted his lucky stars that Leonard was more mad at his superiors than he was paying attention to Jim; he wanted to smack himself with the way he was answering Leonard’s comments. He had been so sure that Leonard knew he was linked to the blood drive that he was scrambling to keep up with the tirade Leonard was _actually_ travelling down.

“Exactly! They’re getting blood donations and have the budgeting for free ice cream and food and yet they can’t give me the permission to take a few samples from my patients?” He leaned back and finished the last of his drink, setting the glass down moodily.

Jim tried not to laugh, Leonard really had no idea. “Aw man, you’re right. It’s unfair, I mean come on, you’re no intern, you’re a doctor too!” This he could do, play the sympathetic ear while his companion worked themself up and vented it all out. Besides, the more Leonard complained, the easier it would be to hide the truth from him until Saturday.

“You’re damn right I am! I ain’t no greenhorn, I’ve got years under my belt. Jus’ cause I left my practice in Georgia...” His voice trailed off with a lilt of real anger that twisted Jim’s heart. He knew that certain wounds were still too fresh to poke at, so the best thing to do when you couldn’t get over them, was barrel past them.

“I know right? I mean come on, everyone knows that country doctors don’t know _jack_ when compared to deep space doctors. That’s just the way it is.” Jim knew the bait was a bit heavy handed, so he let the grin play upon his face as Bones looked up sharply.

“Why you little- That ain’t the truth and you damn well know it! Jus’ cause I ain’t fool enough to want to go flinging my particles across the unknown universe don’t mean that I don’t know how to treat a patient! If anythin’ I know better’n them fancy doctors in their shinin’ medical facilities cause I actually get out and interact with my patients like a real human! I ain’t gonna hide behind no red tape or regulation--” As his words grew heated, Leonard’s thick Southern accent came out, forcing Jim to pick up his glass again to hide his grin.

“--I know all of my patients by name! Betchu those fancy white coats wouldn’t know half of theirs if they smacked ‘em `on the ass!” Leonard huffed and fell back in his seat, his rant at a close. In spite of himself, a smile fought at the edges of his scowl, “shut yer mouth Jim, I know what I said and I stand by it.”

“Okay Bones.”

“Not a word.”

“My lips are sealed.”

The two stared at each other, waiting for the other to break, eventually Leonard laughed and grabbed his glass, “fuck you, I’m getting another drink.”

He came with two glasses in his hands and the pair of men spent another hour happily complaining loudly about Starfleet before heading back to their separate beds, a smile settled into Jim’s face long after he had commanded the lights off.

 

**WEDNESDAY MORNING**

Jim settled into his seat in the cafeteria with a sigh, his stomach growling. One bite into his burger however, and he was distracted by the sound of raucous laughter from a few tables down.

Curious, Jim looked over, stuffing a fry into his mouth.There was a group of cadets in their clean pressed uniforms leaning over a table where yet more cadets sat and what looked like a good-natured argument was beginning to swell into a real and more volatile disagreement.

Jim would have looked away and left the cadets to their own devices, but as the cadets on the far side of the table rose, Jim recognized their faces. They were in his command classes with him and he had just talked to them last week. Suddenly Jim had a hunch that he wouldn’t like whatever had started this argument.

Eating his meal faster, Jim shoved the rest of his fries to the side of his plate and stood as the cadets he had kept his eye on left the table. Picking his tray up Jim fell in step with them, following them towards the recycler where he was able to overhear their continued conversation.

The taller cadet with braided hair was complaining, presumably about one of the women that had been standing over the table.“God _damn_ Henderson! She thinks that just because her boyfriend is a TA that she’s going to win this stupid thing. I don’t know why we even invited her...”

The cadet’s four-eyed companion answered with what was clearly an oft-repeated explanation, “because her girlfriend works at the ice cream parlour and found out when Kirk went there with his boyfriend. We didn’t invite her, she invited herself when she saw you handing out cards and said she could get twice as many people as you and _you_ my dear, couldn’t resist-”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I can never resist a chance to rub her face in the dirt. It’s just that she always thinks she’s so much better than the rest of us! We’re in Command too...” The two cadets dropped their plates into the recycler and turned to see Jim standing behind them, a waiting smirk on his face.

“Kirk!” The taller one gasped in surprise, his hands flying up to his chest as he took a step back.

His companion recovered more quickly, placing on hand on their hip and smiling at Jim, “that’s what we get for gossiping where anyone and everyone can hear us. Sorry Kirk, didn’t mean any harm.”

Jim waved a hand, dropping his own plate in the recycler with an imperceptible sigh at the loss of his fries. He’d regret wolfing his burger down so fast but it was worth the excuse to find out what his peers were doing. “Don’t worry about it Tali’ka, though, I have to say, I’m actually single at the moment. Leonard is just a friend.” He winked in their direction, making them laugh.

“Well I’m sorry for _that_ then. You know how the grapevine works, enough people start saying something and it sounds like the truth.”

Jim nodded and looked up at the other cadet, “although, Shawn, I _am_ curious now about what you were arguing about over there.” He threw the question out as innocuously as he could, making him seem like a simple curiosity concerning something he had overheard and not a desperate attempt to waylay the growing pit of dread his gut was churning up.

Shawn rubbed a hand over his braids and smiled sheepishly, “ah well, um. You remember how you asked us about talking to some of the clubs we were in and stuff? About the thing this weekend?”

Jim nodded carefully, stepping aside as another cadet walked up to get rid of the remains of their meal. He _knew_ he wasn’t going to like the answer to his curiosity.

“Well, there wasn’t really a ton of interest so... Well, Command cadets aren’t really known for backing down from a challenge ya know? It’s not really... Captain behavior. So we decided to make it a competition, see who could get the most people to come.” As the explanation continued, Shawn’s voice picked up speed and enthusiasm, his hands moving to punctuate his points. “So we made these cards to hand out right? And they’ve got all the information on them for Saturday and we’re handing them out and they’re numbered, so we all have like, five hundred of them or something, and we told everyone to hand them in when they come on Saturday and then we would tally them up and whoever had the most cards turned in won.”

Jim nodded again, “okay, that sounds like a pretty good idea to me. Something physical that people can use to remind themselves to come in. Where does Henderson come in?”

“Well...” Shawn took a deep breath, preparing himself for the rapid information that came pouring out of his mouth, “ _Henderson_ has a _girlfriend_ that works in the parlour that’s handing out the ice cream coupons and _she_ saw you and your friend there and overheard you talking to the manager about the coupons and so she told Henderson and then _Henderson_ saw me handing out the cards and she _hates_ me so she said that she could get twice the amount of people to show up and since her boyfriend is a TA in like _all_ the gen-ed classes he can hand out like a million cards and he’s kind of hot so there’s a ton of cadets that are gonna go just because he asked them and I think that’s _cheating_ so I was telling Henderson that it doesn’t count if _he’s_ handing out the cards it has to be _her_ so she’s basically disqualified.” Taking another deep breath Shawn finished, “and she didn’t really like that so...”

Tali’ka jumped in before Jim could process the relevant points from that explanation with, “it started out fine but then Henderson said it was as much cheating as making false promises was. That’s when it got ugly.”

His voice tight Jim asked quietly, “false promises?”

Shawn looked away, not meeting Jim’s eyes as he said, “I may or may not have gotten a little...creative... in my persuasions to get people to come.”

“Shawn. Is there any way that any of what you promised to people is something we can _actually_ deliver on? Please tell me you didn’t promise somebody something like, I don’t even know, _money_.”

Now even Tali’ka refused to meet his eyes.

“What. Did you guys promise.” Jim was glad he hadn’t finished his fries, the burger was already sitting like a rock in his stomach.

Quietly Tali’ka said, “we may have said that it would be a bit like... a fair. With food and games and stuff...”

Jim wondered if this was what being in command was really like, he certainly felt enough stress for it to be. “Right. And... how many of these cards have you handed out?” Shawn and Tali’ka looked at each other with a grimace. “Right. Okay. I need both of you and everyone else that has been handing out cards to meet me tonight after classes. All of our asses are going to be on the line if hundreds of people show up to what was supposed to be a relatively small event expecting a fair instead.”

The three of them looked at each other and nodded, “I’m free at 0800 hours,” Tali’ka offered.

“I can message everyone, I see most of them tonight anyway,” said Shawn.

Setting off on his own mission, Jim started wracking his brain for ways that they could pull this off with only... three days to the event.

  


**FRIDAY MORNING**

Sometimes Jim hated Fridays. They were the last day of the work week and meant the weekend was near, but they were also his most packed days. He only had two classes but they were spaced just far enough apart to not warrant returning to his dorm until after supper, so he spent the rest of his free time in the library, finishing work for his other classes. Fridays were exhausting, but productive.

8am on a Friday morning found Jim in his earliest class, an Intro to Xenolinguistics class that was assisted by no other than the mysterious “Miss Uhura” who was apparently an expert in her field or some shit. Kirk mainly spent the class taking notes and making faces at her, trying to make her crack a smile or show _something_ other than annoyance at his presence.

So far he hadn’t managed more than the professor calling him out and asking for answers to questions he didn’t think Jim had been paying attention to.

“Excuse me, Professor.”

The entire class went silent as all eyes turned to the door where an imposing looking man was standing with his hands behind his back, scanning the room. The professor turned to look and a smile lit his face, “ah! Students! I would like you all to welcome Captain Pike to our classroom. Can I help you Captain?”

The whispers immediately spread across the classroom, _the_ Captain Pike? The one slated to man the flagship _Enterprise_? What was he doing here? What could he want with us? First year cadets?

Jim did his best to sink into his seat and go unnoticed by those piercing, roving eyes.

“I’m looking for James Kirk.”

Jim shut his eyes and sighed, of course he was. The whispers inevitably crashed over him, spreading out in ripples that gained volume the farther you got from his seat. Opening his eyes he took quick damage control of his situation. Everyone was looking towards him even his professor, but especially Uhura who had a predatory gleam in her eye.

Getting to his feet Jim grabbed his PADD and grinned at the crowd, throwing a smirk Uhura’s way. “My apologies ladies, gentlemen, and folk of more exciting natures. I have been summoned and must obey my superiors. Please, contain your tears.”

Uhura was still smirking at him, as though she had gained the upper hand between their unspoken competitive natures. He threw a wink her way as he walked by, flashing his fingers in the shape of a phaser as he did so.

Pike watched him with steady eyes as he walked down to the front of the classroom and met him at the door. “Kid,” he said, by way of greeting.

Jim looked back at him, meeting his gaze head on, “why does everyone call me that? I _am_ actually an adult you know.”

“I’ll be sure to make note of that while you accompany me to my office.” Pike held out a hand and gestured through the open door, pointedly looking at Jim who meandered through easily, grinning back at Uhura.

As soon as they were out of the classroom he turned and looked at Pike, “now seriously, what the hell, Captain? What did I do to warrant a get out of jail free card?” he scoffed and grinned, “I figured you would’ve wanted me to be focusing on my studies.”

Pike ‘tsked’ and started walking, not waiting for Jim to follow him as he headed towards his office. He maintained his silence on the walk over no matter what questions Jim asked, trying to figure out what had possessed the man to pull him out of his class.

Once they had made their way up to his office, Pike sat at his desk and gestured for Kirk to sit in one of the seats in front of him, which Jim did with a huff, looking up at Pike from his sprawl with in annoyance.

Pike leveled his steady gaze back at him and said, “you might find this hard to believe but given your _record_ ... there is some concern about your position here at the Academy and since _I’m_ the one who brought you in, anything _you_ do ends up on _my_ head.”

Jim resisted the urge to roll his eyes, “and what _exactly_ have I done other than go to class and do my work like a good little cadet?”

Wordlessly Pike tapped the PADD next to him and set it in front of Jim to read; it was the same message that Leonard had been complaining about not two days previous. He wondered how much Pike knew, _Leonard_ certainly hadn’t known as much as Jim had feared. “Yeah, everyone on campus got the same message. The good doctors are putting on a blood drive. What does _that_ have to do with... _me_?” Jim slid the PADD back across the desk towards Pike.

“Don’t try and pull the wool over my eyes kid, I’ve got a few resources here on campus and I know you’re working with Dr. Fischer.”

Jim was proud that his face didn’t move, didn’t react to Pike’s words even though internally he was reeling. All the same, as Pike leaned back in his chair with the barest of smirks crossing his face, Jim knew that his silence had given away his surprise.

“See kid, I’m sure Dr. McCoy would have already told you by now, but the reason this blood drive is so surprising is because we don’t _need_ them anymore. We don’t generally need people to donate their own blood when we can just create synthetic stuff that is just as good but carries no risk of disease or biological complications. So when _this_ little message popped up, I was suspicious.

“So I looked up some of Dr. Fischer’s project records, wondering what she was working on that required her to start up a blood drive. Imagine my surprise when I saw that her receptionist reported a visit from a cadet right before she began asking her colleagues about whether they might be interested in a blood drive.” Pike stared at Jim, watching his reaction.

The best lies, Jim told himself, are the ones that are true. Pike already knew he had visited Dr. Fischer so trying to deny it would only incriminate him. “So, you pulled me out of class because... I visited a professional who happens to be hosting a  blood drive tomorrow?”

Pike slid a yellow piece of thick paper across his desk in response. Jim cursed, picking up the card even though he could already guess what it was.

 

_Come on down to the_ _Evans buildin_ _g from_ _9am to 3pm_ _this Saturday to take part in the first annual blood drive on Starfleet campus!_

 

_There will be games and food and fun for the whole family as you do_ **_YOUR_ ** _part to help keep the officers of Starfleet safe on their voyages into the farthest reaches of space!_

 

_The first_ **_400_ ** _donors will also receive a coupon for free ice cream at Mica’s Ice Cream Parlour!!_

_Please present this ticket at the door_

 

Jim flipped the paper over in his fingers and stared hard at the small _403_ printed on the back. It was one of hundreds of nearly identical cards that had been handed out and he didn’t want to think about how Pike had ended up with one.

“Now, I was led to  believe that this event on Saturday was for the betterment of science and a way for the doctors in the Medical Department to get more resources to study and research with. I didn’t realize that it was going to be _‘fun for the whole family’_.”

Before Jim could defend himself, Pike leaned back and spoke again, “So I have you meeting with the woman who started this just days before the announcement went out, and then I’ve got these cards all over campus like some kind of plague--I’ve even heard that they’ve made their way into the city proper. Rumor says you’re in class with a few known culprits. So now tell me honestly, when I go into your cadet correspondence, what will I find?”

It was a damning question and they both knew it. Inwardly Jim cursed, promising himself that he would be more careful in the future, making sure to clear anything incriminating from his PADDs and messages.

A silence stretched across the desk, a knowledge passing between them that lies would do neither of the clever men that sat on either side any good.

“Sir. If I may... I have a question for you.” Pike leaned back and indicated that Jim was free to do so, “are you against this blood drive? Let me clarify, is there some reason that the people who _are_ involved in this blood drive, shouldn’t let it occur?”

Pike smirked, “I have a feeling you know very well that there isn’t any rule or law against this and I’m sure that if I were to look, any and all paperwork would be filed correctly and appropriately. I also know that there is little that can be done to stop something that is less than a day away.”

“Then what are we doing here?” After a pause he added, “Sir.”

Pike leaned forward, “We’re having a conversation about your future here at the academy. And about how your behavior affects not just yourself, but the people who have helped you, as well as the academy itself. So I expect everything to go well tomorrow, understood?”

“I’m sure that the people running it want nothing less, Sir. I bet they’re doing everything they possibly can to make sure it does just that.”

Pike looked across the desk at Jim with a long, steady gaze. The sort of look that you had to master if you truly wanted to be a captain worth his salt. It was the sort of gaze that demanded you spill your secrets and tell him what he needed to know, it was the sort of gaze that came a captain who could stare a Klingon in the face and not flinch.

But Jim was going to be a Captain too, which meant that he couldn’t bow before this man, no matter how much he felt compelled to.

Pike leaned forward and rested his forearms on his desk, “just remember something for me, Kirk. You’re not in Iowa anymore. You’re pushing the boundaries of what you can get away with and you’re going to find out that you’re already on thin ice and don’t have far to push before you crack it. You’ve got a record a mile long already. Try not to add to it.”

“I have no intention of doing so, Sir. I’m here to win a bet, and I don’t lose bets.”

“Now that’s a damn lie, how many times have you bet that you could take on a guy twice your size?”

Jim lifted his chin, “I never bet on the losing side, just that I’d make it into the ring.” He smirked at the Captain, his urge to rebel even just slightly an absolutely irresistible impulse that hovered just under his skin, waiting for a chance to wreak some real havoc.

After another long look that passed between them, each man assessing the other, Pike dismissed Jim who saluted smartly and sauntered out of the room.

Where he picked up his pace and tried not to run back to his rooms; he had a lot more calls to make and less than 24 hours to make sure that this thing went off without a hitch. He could talk a big game to Pike but his fellow cadets had pulled more than a few things out of his hands and he was pretty sure Dr. Fischer had left him a message asking about some logistics that weren’t adding up the way they were supposed to be.

Fridays were his busiest days but he had a suspicion that this Friday was going to be the longest one yet.

  


**SATURDAY MORNING**

Jim rested his hands on his hips and looked around the bright open room with no small amount of pride. He hadn’t slept in nearly three days and was running on coffee and stims that Cynthia had snuck him when she wasn’t with a patient.

They had been open for just about five hours and he had just been replaced by one of the volunteers at the check-in table. The first hour had been a madhouse; they had initially planned for 2-300 people to appear, and that was if they were lucky enough to get the word out in time. With the questionable help of Jim’s fellow Command cadets and the questionable competition that had resulted, word had spread. Oh, had it spread.

Jim had shown up hours before the event was supposed to begin in the still, bright hours of the early morning. Awake before the birds began their calls and long after the moon had met its crest and begun to slide softly towards the horizon. He had been on the phone with Cynthia, heading down the road towards the building and arguing over some last minute details only to be stopped at the door by a few tough looking workers who asked if he was in charge. They were there to deliver some party equipment and nobody had been by to unlock the doors.

Jim had gently started inhaling the rest of the coffee in the thermos he had carried with him--temperature be damned--and hung up on Cynthia, calling up the Maintenance Department instead. In less than ten minutes the night cleaner was letting them into the building and Jim was flicking on lights, directing the men and women on where to deliver their equipment.

They were efficient and uninterested in conversation which, given the hour, Jim couldn’t fault them for. He signed for the delivery, hoping that it wouldn’t matter much in the long run that he was just a cadet and the not the professional in charge.

Looking over the equipment they left in their wake, Jim had marvelled at how much a few extremely competitive students could accomplish in the tightest timeline imaginable. Almost subconsciously Jim made note of who had helped escalate the situation--if they made it to graduation they would be valuable officers on a starship.

Checking the time, he had work to do. The doors were opening at 0900 sharp and he had to start getting everything ready. Other volunteers would begin to trickle in as he worked, helping to move chairs and screens to create small semi-private areas to draw blood from.

They would set up the other end of the hall with the small games that had been delivered; arcade games and skill games and games of chance, all kindly discounted by one of the cadets who knew a person who knew a person who had an uncle who rented these sorts of equipment.

Right at the front door they set up a table with a box to collect the tickets that had been handed out and greet people as they entered. Just before 0900 a few cadets showed up and assembled tables on which they began to lay out food for sale. It was almost exactly like a festival in a small town, if you ignored the frost on the ground outside and medical stations that took up half the floor.

Jim had been a little worried but mostly excited, everything had come together and all of the volunteers looked capable of handling their stations without much fuss. With a nod from Cynthia, who roamed the medical half of their little endeavor like a hawk on alert for any problem that she could tackle with her PADD, Jim strode over to the doors and propped them open only to be greeted by the sight of dozens of faces suddenly turning and looking towards him.

For a brief moment Jim and the crowd stared at each other and Jim nearly had the urge to ask what they were all doing there before one woman holding the hand of a young boy lifted the ticket in her other fist and asked, “is it starting?”

Jim nodded and felt his face begin to lift in a dazzling grin. “You’re right on time!” Like a Ringleader in an archaic circus Jim lifted his arms up and prepare to charm the audience that had landed before him. “Come right this way, now have your tickets at the ready I’ll be collecting them as you walk in so single file if you may! Now as you come in be prepared for the delicious smells of snacks and confections to delight you! We have our stations all set up on your left for donations, just look for the woman with the PADD, that’s Dr. Fischer, she’ll be taking your names and calling you when a phlebotomist opens up.” With a mock whisper he leaned towards a young girl and said, “that’s a fancy name for people who have a magic that makes the needle not hurt.” The girl smiled shyly and Jim continued, backing up as the crowd began to find themselves in something resembling a line.

He jumped behind the table he had just set up and began to collect the tickets that were thrust towards him, “be sure to take the young kids up to our arcade! We’ve got all sorts of games that you can try! There’s something for everyone! Shoot down Romulan Birds of Prey or play your chances with our games of luck!”

The day had begun and in between coaxing people into having  fun and participating in all that they had to offer, Jim barely had time to think or worry about what could go wrong.

Standing now away from the table, Jim tried to let his mind catch up to himself and take in everything that they had accomplished. At his last count they had almost three hundred more people come than they had anticipated with even their highest estimates and cadets had been running in and out of the building all day refreshing supplies and making sure everything was running as smoothly as possible.

Deciding that he should take a tour of the room Jim headed towards the food, stopping at the table that was making cotton candy and trying to get the cadet running the machine to make him one that looked like a teddy bear. He had just received his treat--more in the shape of a slumbering grizzly than a teddy--when someone cleared their throat behind him.

Expecting a disgruntled parent who was annoyed at a grown man spending so much time at the cotton candy table he turned smartly, a cocky smirk already plastered on his face, only to see a bemused Leonard McCoy looking at him, one eyebrow cocked up in gentle accusation as his gaze traveled down to the fluff in his hand and back up.

“Bones!” To his delight, McCoy nearly laughed, it was only a quick frown that prevented the humour in his eyes from spreading to his lips. “You’re here!”

“You’re damn right I’m here, and now that you’re finally away from your adoring fans I can ask you, what in damn hell is all this?”

Jim pulled off a chunk of cotton--he was pretty sure it was supposed to be the bear’s ear--and shoved it in his mouth, relishing the gentle dissolution of it. “I don’t know what you mean, Bones.”

“Sure, kid, and I’m not a doctor whose drawn more blood in the past hour than I did in all my years as a resident at the hospital.” He leveled a glare at Jim, who tried a _little_ to look innocent, but easily began to grin.

With the hand that wasn’t holding his cotton candy, Jim began to waggled his fingers, “ta-dah?”

Bones just stared at him before reaching out and grabbing a handful of the fluff.

“Aw... That was his face.” Jim laughed at the look on Leonard’s face, “it was supposed to be a teddy bear. Don’t worry I think you just ended its suffering.”

The pair walked a ways and Jim couldn’t help the suffuse of pride that warmed his body. He was glad Leonard was here.

“Now see Jim, I was real mad about there bein’ a blood drive when all I wanted was a few measly blood samples from my patients. And to find out that you were the one puttin’ this all together? I admit, I was contemplating some nasty thoughts about you and your mama. I came here to ream you out, but then Dr. Fischer stops me and asks if I would help with the blood drawin’ cause some of the younger interns aren’t too good at finding veins.

“So of course I go to help and soon enough that’s all I’m doing cause Starfleet doesn’t apparently see fit to have their doctors-in-training work on actual people instead of just the theoretical stuff. And suddenly it hits me that Doctor _Cynthia Fischer_ , one of the leading minds in interstellar medicine recognized me and called me out by name. Which is kind of odd don’t you think?”

Jim swallowed and cleared his throat, responding in sincerity that that was _indeed_ rather odd, especially--this he kept to himself-- since he hadn’t ever actually called Leonard by name in front of Cynthia.

“So now I’m startin’ to wonder again at the timing of this blood drive which, no offense but looks like it was slapped together in a week--” Jim tried not to laugh, “--and my own desire to get some samples tested. So Jim, do you care to enlighten me? Again I ask, what the hell is this?”

“Well, think of it as... a win-win scenario.”

“And just how is that?”

Jim shoved the last of the cotton candy in his mouth and tossed the paper stick it had been on away before leaning against one of the walls in the back of the room and looking up towards Leonard who declined to lean and instead crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Well, the way Cynthia and I talked about it... those interns you complained about get some experience, the cadets who show up get their yearly exam out of the way without having to worry and also get some volunteer hours for those that need it, and all the Command students get to claim to be community minded. And besides, now the community gets to feel like they actually helped out with, and got to see some of Starfleet.”

Bones nodded, “right, that sounds about right coming out of a mealy-mouthed politician. How about we cut to why _you’re_ in charge here. Why you did this to begin with.”

Jim shrugged, “I’m pretty sure I heard Cynthia say that the doctors that helped with the actual drive would have dibs on using the samples for any of their own tests or experiments. And I mean, everyone who gets a sample taken signs a consent form so...”

“So no need to go to the brass for permission in the first place.” Letting out a long breath that seemed to deflate his tense shoulders, Bones leaned against the wall next to Jim, barely, just barely, brushing his shoulder with his own.

“Hell, kid...” A laugh escaped him, a real smile--though small--split his tense face and cracked through his grumpy armor. “You’re something else you know that? If I’m supposed to believe that you did all this for me, what are you getting out of it?”

Jim shrugged, looking for the words to explain why he did this. To explain how shocking it was to wake up from a night of too much drinking in a bed that was safe and soft and warm. To have been accepted when he was covered in blood and his own mistakes and yet still believed in. How could he begin to explain to this man the faith that he stirred in him? Faith in Leonard, that he would always be there, ready to pick up his broken bits and cuss and swear and stitch them back together. Faith in Jim himself, that he could be everything that was wrong with him and still be someone worth following.

He couldn’t.

So his smart mouth covered his tracks for him. “Tell you what, you agree to be my roommate next year so I don’t have to live in the dorms and we’ll call it even.” He held out his hand and smirked.

Bones laughed and took his hand. It was warm and steady, something he could hold onto. “If you make it that long, Jim, I’d be happy to have you. But you’re sleepin’ in your own damn bed.”

Jim laughed as his heart skipped a beat, “like I said Bones, it’s a win-win scenario for everyone involved.”

The two men grinned and released their handhold, Leonard turning his head away to contain his exuberance, no sense in letting Jim think he could get whatever he wanted.

“Hey, Jim?”

“Yeah?”

“Think your dunk-tank’s leakin’.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Nope.”

Leonard watched Jim dash off and sighed a little, resting his fingertips against the sugar sweet taste on his lips. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy fuck this was a bitch and thrice to write.
> 
> Anywho, here's the chapter that for most of its life went by the title: Bloodheist


End file.
